


The Exception to the Rule

by bansheequeen (queenbanshee), xtremeroswellian



Category: Smallville
Genre: Accidental Cuddling, Angst with a Happy Ending, Banter, Bestest Cousins, F/M, Flirting, Hurt Oliver, Inappropriately timed humor, It used to cost money to call long distance, Jealousy, Protective Lois Lane, Slow Burn, Stubborn Oliver, Teasing, Worried Chloe Sullivan, bed sharing, stubborn chloe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:28:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24205933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbanshee/pseuds/bansheequeen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: When Oliver falls off the grid without warning, Chloe finds herself on a plane to Star City to try and find him, and when she does, the two of them wind up growing much closer than either of them ever anticipated.
Relationships: Clark Kent & Chloe Sullivan, Lois Lane & Chloe Sullivan, Oliver Queen/Chloe Sullivan
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

In a large hotel suite in Athens, Greece, Oliver Queen set up his laptop on the table, plugging it into the wall so the screen was easier to read than it was when he used battery power only. He waited as it booted up, yawning involuntarily and rubbing a hand over his face. It was almost four-thirty in the morning, and due to meetings for Queen Industries and a brief rendezvous with a certain young speedster who'd met him there for authentic baklava--which Oliver himself couldn't eat--and now waiting for Chloe's shift at the Planet to end so they could have a video conference call, he was wearing out. He yawned again, wishing he'd thought to buy a cup of coffee before he'd retired to his room for the night.

Hopefully after the call, he'd be able to get a few hours sleep before his flight back to Star City in--he checked his watch and groaned--five hours.

He flipped on his camera and waited.

Chloe dragged herself upstairs towards the apartment above the Talon and took a deep breath as she turned the key on the door. That hadn't been what she expected. At all. She supposed she should have seen it coming, but she had been so busy with everything else...

As soon as she stepped into the apartment and saw her laptop open over the table with her communicator sitting next to it she froze.

"Shit." She muttered before quickly shrugging her coat off and dropping a box with her things as well as her purse on the floor and rushing to bring her computer out of sleep mode, sighing in relief when she saw Oliver was still online and connecting the call with him even as she sat down on the couch and turned the laptop towards her, "sorry I'm late."

Make that four hours of sleep.

But given her red-rimmed eyes, he knew there was a good reason behind it. "It happens. You all right?" He frowned a little as he watched his monitor.

With a deep breath, Chloe nodded, pulling the laptop to her lap and leaning back against the couch, "yeah, how is Greece? Did Bart make it there with the documents?"

"Yeah, and after he nearly devoured all of the food in the entire country, he headed back to the states." He smiled a bit. "Thanks for getting them so quickly."

"Lucky for us, he can run over water," she smiled a little and nodded, "no problem, does that mean you're flying back tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow for you," he said wryly. "It'll still be today for me."

Frowning slowly, she glanced at the clock, nodding, "okay, just let me know what you needed to go through and go get some sleep, it's really late there."

"In a minute," he agreed with a slight nod. "What happened?"

At that, she paused and stared at the screen, watching him, " what do you mean?"

"You've been crying."

Chloe sighed deeply and plopped back against the couch, "Lex fired me."

He blinked, sitting forward a little, a surprised look on his face. "He _fired_ you?" For a full moment he didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry, Chloe."

Nodding, she sighed deeply and rubbed her hands over her face, "it was going to happen sooner or later. I pissed him off, tried to blackmail him. He wasn't going to let it slide."

Oliver sighed softly. "You wouldn't have wanted to stay there anyway, Chloe. Any paper owned by Lex Luthor is bound to end up being corrupt as hell. You have way too much journalistic integrity to be working for someone like him."

"Thank you," she told him sincerely, "and I know that, the Planet hasn't been the same since he bought it, but" she shook her head, "it's not easy to give up on your dreams, even if they are falling apart."

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "I know. Which is why I'm sorry. You're talented. I know it's not the same, but there are other newspapers. Pick one and I'll help out however I can."

Shaking her head, she took a deep breath, "I'll just take some time to think about, but thank you for your offer."

"The offer's always on the table," he said quietly. Then he drew in another breath. "I know the timing's really not great, but I could use your help on something else."

"Actually, the timing couldn't be better," she smiled a little at him and nodded, she was hoping he'd give her more work, keep her mind off of things, give her a reason to stay busy "what do you need?"

Oliver smiled a bit and nodded. "I'm sending some files to you as we speak. I think Lex is trying to put down roots in Star City. I've been running the names and businesses in the files through all the internet search databases I know of, and nothing's turning up. I'm missing something."

"I'll look into it," she told him, raising her eyebrows, "taking Lex down sounds even better now for some reason."

He raised an eyebrow. "I wonder why," he said wryly. "Thanks, Watchtower. Your help's appreciated more than you know."

"Anytime," she told him, sitting up straight and nodding, "I'll have something for you by the time you land."

"All right. I'll check in then. Take it easy," he added, a slight frown touching his lips.

"You too, have a good trip."

Oliver nodded slightly at her, then somewhat reluctantly shut off his webcam, sighing softly. Just when things seemed like they were getting better, it went from bad to worse.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a long few days. She had spent most of the first one researching, she managed to research overnight, going over everything Oliver had sent her, making connections, finding answers, connecting the dots that lead potential competitors in the Star City market to LuthorCorp. Until about eleven AM, when her body finally gave in and she passed out on the couch.

She woke up that night, around seven, and frowned when she saw the time. Oliver hadn't called, she assumed he would be back by then and would have wanted answers. She called him, but he didn't pick up. His assistant informed her his plane had landed and he had gone home to rest. While Chloe thought she was weird, it was a very long trip back from Greece, and he probably needed the rest.

But then two other days had gone by with no word from him, no email replies, no phone calls, nothing. And she was worried. So she called Bart and was now waiting for him to show up at the small apartment above the Talon.

As if on cue, Bart appeared at the doorstep, a grin across his face as he waited for her to open the door. When she did, he held out a single yellow tulip. "Hey, Gorgeous. Long time no see."

Chloe couldn't help but smile a little as she took the flower, but the worried look stayed on her face, "thanks, Impulse."

He cocked his head to the side. "What's up?"

"I can't find Oliver," she told him quietly, "have you heard from him at all since he got back?"

At that, he frowned too. "No, I haven't heard from or seen the boss man since Greece." Which reminded him, he was hungry and baklava was sounding really good again already.

She sighed, "I called Arthur and Victor and they haven't heard from him either, I'm getting worried, Bart. I have research for him, he wouldn't just vanish without getting the results."

"Unless he's getting some action." He shrugged a little.

Chloe considered Bart for a second, admittedly, she didn't know Oliver all that well and she had only been working with him for a couple of months now, "is this something he does often? Is it normal for him to vanish?"

Bart fell silent for a moment. "Not really," he admitted.

Pausing, she watched him then nodded, taking a deep breath, "I'll keep trying to find him."

"Want me to run by, check things out?" he offered.

"Would you mind?"

"Nope. Be back in a flash." He grinned and disappeared.

She took a deep breath and nodded, blinking as the strong wind hit her then walking back to her desk.

Mere moments later, Bart returned, munching on a burrito. "Sorry it took me so long. Had to stop on the way back for a snack." He paused. "No dice, Senorita."

Chloe frowned, looking up at him, "he wasn't in his apartment?"

"Not at the apartment, not at Queen Industries, not on his boat, not on the beach and not at his favorite French restaurant that I can't pronounce."

Pursing her lips together, she stood up, nodding, "I guess I will see what I can do."

He nodded a little. "All right. If you need me for anything else, just give me a ring." He grinned. "Let me know when you find the Boss man."

"I will," she smiled softly at him, "thanks for stopping by, Bart."

"Anytime," he assured her. "See you later." He winked at her and disappeared in a flash.

***

She had waited another full day, researching, calling, looking for any signs of either Green Arrow or Oliver Queen. But she knew something was wrong, she could feel something was going on.

Normally, she would have just asked for help, but Clark had been too busy with Lana, who he had nominated his newest sidekick since she had all the technology at Isis to help him and it gave him the excuse he needed to be around her. She was going to have to figure out what had happened to Oliver on her own and the best way to do it, was to trace his steps. Which was why she was sitting on a plane, on her way to Star City. She would start with the pilot, move on to the penthouse, which, luckily she had access too. Oliver had given her access 'just in case' and go from there.

He had to be somewhere and if she had to guess, she'd guess he was in trouble.

***

It had taken a whole other day and she had been pretty much in every corner of the city, which was hard considering she had never been there before and had to navigate with maps, and there was no sign of Oliver. It was a little past seven, so it was pretty dark already and she had one last place she could think of.

The Queen Mansion was about fifteen minutes away from downtown Star City, she had rented a car and was glad she could see the house from miles away. It was bigger than the Luthor Mansion in Smallville for sure, but not nearly as dark looking as the castle. Although as Chloe drove up the driveway, it became clear that no one lived there and hadn't in a very long time. The mansion was perfectly kept, but there was just something... empty about it, it was lifeless.

She walked up the front steps and held her breath, the door was slightly open and she reached into her purse, grabbing her taser and holding on to it tightly. Her breath caught when she saw something dark on the white marble floor, since there wasn't much light, she couldn't really tell, but she was pretty sure it looked like dried blood and her heart started beating fast.

Holding her breath, she listened for a long moment and all she could hear was the ocean in the distance, she waited for a moment longer then let out her breath before calling out, "Oliver!?"

* * *

Someone was in the house with him. He heard the quiet footsteps from downstairs and he swallowed hard, reaching out and gripping onto his crossbow with one hand. He kept still for a long moment, then heard someone call out his name.

He was pretty sure burglars didn't tend to do that.

Biting down hard on his tongue, he sat up in the bed, pressing a hand to his stomach and swinging his feet over the edge of the bed. Trying to ignore the dizziness, he held onto the crossbow as he made his way out of the bedroom and toward the top of the staircase.

Just because whoever had arrived knew his name didn't mean the person was a friend. He paused at the top of the stairs, frowning a little.

Chloe could hear someone moving, and the noise was coming from the top of the long stairs. Holding her breath, she walked as quietly as she could trying to see something and stilling when she saw the outline of someone on top of the stairs, an unmistakable bow in his hand and she held her breath again, "Oliver?"

He cocked his head to the side, reaching out and resting a hand on the banister, lowering the crossbow to his side. " _Chloe_?" His voice was dubious.

"Oliver," she repeated, throwing her taser into her purse and rushing up the stairs, "are you _okay_? What are you doing here?"

"I own the place?" he said uncertainly. "What are you doing here?"

At his words, she paused just a couple of steps from the top where he stood, "I've been trying to find you for days, Bart came looking for you, I didn't know if something had happened." Pursing her lips together, she was suddenly very uncomfortable, "I had to make sure you were okay, I--" she paused, looking over his shoulder, "if you were just trying to get away for a while, I can just go."

He blinked a couple of times. "You came all the way to Star City because you were worried?" There was uncertainty in his voice.

"I _tried_ calling you," she said, embarrassed, "I must have talked to half the people in town, I even called the tabloids and asked about any Green Arrow sightings, but when I got nothing, I was afraid something bad had happened." She admitted.

Oliver was more than caught off guard by the admission. "I didn't really think anyone would notice," he admitted.

Chloe looked at what she could see of him, frowning slightly, "so... you're okay?" She had to make sure of it before she apologized for being neurotic and left.

He deliberately sidestepped the question. "How long have you been in Star City?"

"I got in yesterday morning," she told him quietly, picking up on the fact that her question had gone unanswered.

He winced a little. "Where are you staying?"

"Your guest room?" She said quietly, looking away awkwardly. She was pretty much unemployed, and... he hadn't been there anyway.

"Oh. Good." Oliver relaxed a little.

At that, she raised her eyebrows, surprised by his reaction but wanting to get back on track, "why are you _here_?" 

Right. He'd been pretty sure she wasn't going to let him get by without answering her questions. That was just Chloe. "Hadn't been in awhile," he said, hedging.

"And the blood on the floor?" She asked again, narrowing her eyes. At least he was standing and talking, it couldn't be _that_ bad.

Blood on the floor. _Shit._ He hadn't thought about that. Then again, he hadn't thought anyone would show up looking for him at his parents' mansion either. Least of all Chloe Sullivan. "Blood?"

Caught. Good. "By the front door, Oliver, what is going on?"

He sighed softly and reluctantly reached out and turned on the light, squinting a little until his eyes adjusted. "I may have had a slight mishap the night I got back from Greece."

"What happened?" She blinked too, squinting and looking down his body, her eyes widening slightly. 

"Routine patrol gone bad," he admitted, looking down at the blood-soaked bandage wrapped around his stomach. "I'm all right."

Chloe frowned, glancing at his face then taking the two steps up the stairs so she was on the same level as him and staring at his stomach, "this doesn't look 'all right' this looks like you should have been to a doctor."

Oliver shrugged a little. "Too risky," he told her.

"Riskier than having it get infected and _dying_? What happened?"

"Riskier in the sense that it would be all over the press if Oliver Queen showed up to the hospital with a stab wound to the gut when the guy who did it knows he stabbed Green Arrow," he responded.

"Then you need to put a doctor you can trust on your payroll," she told him, leaning closer as she lowered her hand to look at the bandages, "how bad is it?"

"Not a bad idea," he said with a slight frown. He watched her as she leaned in closer. "I think I'll live." Although a few days ago he hadn't been sure that was going to be the case. But he wasn't about to tell _her_ that.

"I think you need to sit down," she told him, straightening her back.

She wasn't wrong. It was the most he'd been on his feet since he'd arrived at the mansion days ago, and he was feeling a little dizzy. "Yeah, sounds like a good plan." He glanced at her, then toward the bedroom he'd been holed up in.

She watched as he walked slowly and shook her head slightly, following him into the bedroom, "why were you staying here? It doesn't look like anyone has been in here for a while," and the white sheets covering the furniture weren't her only clue.

"They haven't been," he admitted, moving over to the bed and sitting down on the edge of it slowly. He winced, then gritted his teeth as he scooted back carefully to lean against the headboard. "And it just felt like the place to go."

"Why didn't you call me or one of the guys and ask for help?" She asked with a frown.

He shrugged a little. "They're on their own missions and you've got enough on your plate to deal with, Chloe. Plus, I'm fine, really."

"Yeah, you look fine," she glared at him, "when was the last time you ate?"

Oliver frowned at the glare, sinking down into the mattress a little. "I had some crackers earlier."

"Right," she reached into her purse and pulled out a water bottle, handing it to him, "Drink this. I'll be back."

His eyebrows furrowed a little and he took the bottle from her, watching her head away before he unscrewed the lid and took a long drink. Before he knew it, the entire bottle was gone.

Chloe made her way back a little less than an hour later, carrying a couple of bags and a pizza box. The bags weren't exactly light, but she made it to the top of the stairs quietly, she still couldn't believe he had been injured that badly and hadn't bothered to call anyone. What was the point of being part of a team if you were too bullheaded to call for help when you needed it?

Oliver had drifted off into a slight sleep when he heard footsteps approaching, and he quickly opened his eyes. The smell of the pizza hit him and he groaned softly as his stomach growled. He flashed Chloe a grin as she stepped into the room. "You are a saint."

"You should probably have something other than pizza but this was on the way and considering I don't know the city, it will have to do." She told him as she laid the bags on the huge bed then handed him the pizza box. 

He opened the box and pulled a piece of the pizza free, immediately taking a bite and closing his eyes as he leaned back against the wooden headboard.

Chloe pulled a bottle of orange juice out of the bag and held it out to him, she didn't know how much help it would be, but at least he'd be getting some vitamins, "how are you feeling?"

Oliver glanced at her, chewing and swallowing his food before lifting the pizza up a little. "Much better. Have some." He pushed the box toward her.

With a sigh, she sat down on the edge of the bed and picked up a slice, "so, do you do this often?"

"Eat pizza?" he asked, even though he knew full well that wasn't what she meant.

Rolling her eyes, she just gave him a look before taking a bite of her slice.

He sighed softly. "I don't get hurt often," he said with a slight shrug. "But it happens on occasion."

"And do you usually make it worse than it needs to be?"

Oliver paused, arching an eyebrow. "You think I should ask someone to fly in every time I get scratched up?"

"This is more than just scratched up, Oliver, and yes, I think you should, isn't that the whole point of having a team, anyway?" She asked with a frown.

He shifted uncomfortably. "The team is to help save people, and stop bad things from happening."

"And that includes stopping bad things from happening to _you_."

He was silent for a moment, gazing at her. "You really flew all the way out here because you were worried about me?"

"Is that so hard to believe?" She asked with a frown.

Oliver searched her eyes. "Not from you, I suppose."

"Meaning?" She raised her eyebrows slightly, watching him.

"You're a good person," he answered.

"I'm not the only one who was worried, Oliver," she told him, "Bart, Victor and AC too."

He looked a little surprised at that. "Oh."

"I know we don't know each other that well but it really shouldn't be that hard for you to believe that people care whether you're alive or not." She said quietly, watching him.

Oliver diverted his eyes, chewing another bite of pizza as he considered her words.

She kept her eyes on him and shook her head slightly, "I'll leave once I make sure you're okay."

He drew in a breath, guilt tugging at him. "I'll reimburse you for your plane ticket and food and I'll fly you back to Metropolis when you're ready to go."

Chloe rolled her eyes and shook her head, "you don't have to reimburse me for anything, you didn't ask me to come." She pointed out, "and I already got a round-trip."

"You're here because of me though," he reminded her. "And that's because you're part of the team, which is also because I asked for your help, so I'll be reimbursing you."

"You're the one paying so you already paid for the ticket anyway, just let it go, Oliver."

He sighed and leaned his head back against the headboard.

Nodding, she watched him then sighed, taking another bite of her pizza and chewing silently.

Oliver watched her for a moment. "How are you?" he asked quietly.

At the question, she raised an eyebrow, turning to look at him once more, "I'm okay. You?"

He gave her a wry smile, then shook his head a little. "I meant with the whole Lex and the Daily Planet debacle."

"I'm keeping busy," she told him with a shrug.

"Yeah," he murmured, taking another bite of pizza and finishing off the slice he'd picked up.

"I brought the research I did on Lex, well it's at the penthouse."

"Appreciated," he told her with a small, faint smile. "How's everything else back in Kansas? How's Boy Scout?"

"He's doing good," she told him, "running after Lana."

At that, he rolled his eyes. "I should have figured."

"Some things never change," she smiled a little and shrugged.

"Some things really _need_ to change," Oliver responded.

"Such as?" She asked, frowning a little as she watched him.

He gazed at her. "If Clark wasn't angsting over Lana Lang, think of all the lives he could be saving. The people he could be helping. With his abilities..." His voice trailed off and he shook his head a little.

"He can't save people 24/7, Oliver, no one can." She told him, "Clark is doing what he can, but he can't not have a life anymore."

"I didn't say 24/7, Chloe. But you have to admit, he spends an incredible amount of time moping in his barn over a woman who married his biggest enemy." He frowned.

"I don't think he's ready to do what you do, Oliver," she shrugged a little, "Lana or no Lana."

"Yeah, I got that." He sighed softly.

"Give him time..." she said quietly with a shrug.

Oliver grimaced. "Don't see that I really have a choice."

She shook her head and shrugged a little, "no, you really don't."

He studied her for a moment. "What about you, Chloe?"

"What about me?" She asked, shifting on the bed until her back was leaning against the headboard and turning her head to look at him as she took another bite of her pizza.

"Why do you do this?" he asked quietly, truly curious. He wanted to know the answer because he thought maybe it would give him a little more insight into the puzzle that was Chloe Sullivan.

"Do what? Play sidekick?" She asked, raising her eyebrows a little.

"You know that's just a teasing nickname, right?" He glanced at her sideways. "You're a lot more than a sidekick. But yeah." He shrugged.

"It doesn't bother me," she told him with a shrug, "I guess I started doing this to uncover the truth and report it, but after I found out about Clark, I started to realize that there is more to it than just reporting the truth."

He contemplated that for a moment. "I'm sure that meant a hell of a lot to him," he said sincerely.

"He has saved my life more times than I can count," she told him quietly, "I'm sure there are times I didn't even know he was there, it's the least I can do for him."

Oliver's gaze softened a little and he nodded slightly, looking down at the pizza box.

Chloe shrugged softly, "besides, we've been kinda doing this since high school."

"A long time," he murmured.

She smirked a little at that, "thanks for calling me old, by the way."

He rolled his eyes at her. "Which must make _me_ ancient."

"Exactly," she grinned a little.

He chuckled lightly, then grimaced, holding his breath for a moment as a wave of pain hit him. He forced himself to relax as he exhaled slowly. "Trust me, I'm feeling it these days," he said wryly.

"What hurts?" She said, sitting up and turning towards him, frowning worriedly. 

"Stomach," he admitted, resting a hand lightly over the bandage.

"Okay," she stood up and pulled the bags from the bed as well as the pizza box and picked up a bottle of painkillers and poured some in her hand, "take three of this, it's over the counter stuff, but it should help some."

Nodding a little, he reached out and took them from her hand, dry swallowing them quickly. "Thanks."

Chloe frowned and held the orange juice for him, "it'll knock you out for a while."

Their fingers brushed together as he took the juice from her and he looked up at her. "So it'll be just like the last few days." He took a drink.

She sighed softly and shook her head, "after you wake up, we're going to the penthouse."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Because you'd rather stay at the penthouse than a mansion?"

"Because you live there and you have more things there than you do here, this place is kinda dusty and honestly? Delivery is faster over there."

Another short chuckle escaped him and he shut his eyes tightly. "Right. We can go now if you'd rather."

Chloe frowned at the look on his face and shook her head, "get some rest. I can't carry you anywhere, I'll go call the boys and let them know you're alive."

"Wait." He reached out and caught her wrist in a gentle grip, opening his eyes to look up at her. "Don't tell them about this, okay? Just...tell them I got caught up in Queen Industries business."

She frowned at him, giving him a look but nodding and sighing, "okay."

"Thank you," he said quietly, letting her go.

"Rest," Chloe told him, picking up the bags and the pizza and leaving the room quietly. She would wait until he woke up, and in the meanwhile, she was going to look around the mansion, at least she didn't have to worry about anyone catching her this time.


	3. Chapter 3

By the time he woke up, it was nearly ten at night, and by the time they arrived at his penthouse it was nearly Midnight. It had taken him fifteen minutes just to get down the stairs at the mansion, and another fifteen to make it inside Queen Tower, and that included the 30 story elevator ride.

When they finally got inside, he was far too tired and in far too much pain to make it all the way back to the bedroom, so he eased himself down onto the sofa and shut his eyes, breathing heavily.

Chloe helped him sit down, watching him worriedly and placing the bags and his bow on the floor next to the couch, "Oliver, you have got to let someone look at you. You're not doing well." Now that they were in the penthouse and she had seen just how hard it had been for him to move around, especially down the stairs, she could see just how bad he looked.

He laid his head back against the couch. "I'll be okay after I catch my breath." He exhaled slowly. "There should be coffee in the kitchen if you want some. I don't drink it, but I keep it around for the others when they're in town."

"No," she said firmly, watching as the bandages around his stomach got darker with blood, "we're getting you a doctor."

Oliver opened his eyes to look up at her. "Chloe--"

She shook her head, tightening her jaw, "you're going to call a doctor from your staff and pay them not to ask questions, but you're getting someone to look at you."

He sighed heavily, rubbing a hand over his face. "I don't _have_ a doctor on staff. But now that you mention it, it's probably a good idea."

Chloe narrowed her eyes, "you don't have _any_ doctors on your staff? You have labs, Oliver."

"Not the kind of doctors the team needs." He chewed his lip, looking thoughtful for a moment. "But I may know a trustworthy one."

She reached into her pocket and pulled her phone out, holding it to him.

He took the phone from her, dialing a number and pressing the phone to his ear. "Dr. Hamilton? Sorry to call so late. It's Oliver Queen."

She sighed, relieved and sat down carefully on the edge of the couch, watching him as he spoke to the doctor and hoping the guy was good, there was no telling how bad the wound was and if it was already infected.

"All right. Thank you." A moment later, he closed her phone and handed it back to her. "He's on the way." There was a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

She slid the phone back in her pocket and nodded, "thank you."

"I just hope I'm right and he's trustworthy. Otherwise my cover's blown," he murmured.

"Just because one criminal knows what he did to you, there is no reason to believe this doctor would somehow find out, or go to the press." She told him, "I'll hide your gear, but you'll need to change your pants."

He looked down at the leather pants he still wore. "Right." He grimaced a little, bracing his hands on the sofa in order to get back on his feet.

She was by his side instantly, an arm around his back as she helped him up, "I'll help you."

Without thinking about it, his arms circled her. "Thanks," he murmured. He was a little surprised at how solid she felt beside him as he leaned against her for support. A flicker of some unidentifiable emotion passed his face.

"No problem," she whispered as she looked towards the hallway and started helping him down towards his bedroom, "it'll be better if you lay down in bed anyway."

Nodding a little, he made his way to the bed with her assistance, then slowly sank down onto the edge of it. He looked up at her, his gaze intense.

"Do you need anything?" She asked him as she adjusted her pillows for him.

"I'm all right from here," he answered, watching her intently. "Thank you."

Chloe had no idea why he was looking at her like that and while she felt like she was missing something, she didn't want to waste time trying to figure out since she didn't know how long it would take the doctor to get there, "where do you keep your sweat pants?"

"Second drawer of the dresser," he answered, letting out a breath.

Nodding, she stood up straight and walked over to the dresser, finding the pants without a problem and picking out a pair of gray ones that were sitting on top before moving back toward the bed, "you're not doing this on your own, you'll force your stomach and make it worse," she informed him as she placed the pants over the bed.

At that, Oliver blinked. "You're going to help me get out of my pants?"

"I've seen men naked before," even if they weren't _Oliver Queen_ , "I think I can handle it."

He swallowed, nodding. "Right." He couldn't help but wonder if she'd seen _Clark_ naked before and he had to grit his teeth to stop himself from asking that, because that wasn't something he was sure he _really_ wanted the answer to. "For the record, I won't be totally naked after the pants are gone anyway."

"Then we don't have a problem," she tried to sound confident even though she didn't feel it at all as she lowered her hands to his leather pants and undid them, holding her breath.

He held his breath, too, even though he wasn't consciously aware of it. He tried to remind himself that this was Lois Lane's cousin, and one of his teammates, and that anything more than that would be incredibly inappropriate. He slowly leaned back on his elbows as she began to tug the pants down and off his hips.

Taking the leather pants off of him was a lot harder than she'd imagined since it was sticking to his skin, but once she managed, she quickly slid the sweat pants on both legs and pulled them up, no need to make things awkward from any longer than necessary and it was getting harder to make sure to keep her eyes off of areas she shouldn't be staring at anyway.

Oliver let out a breath, closing his eyes and laying flat on his back as the sweat pants were in place. "Thanks, Chloe." 

"No problem," she breathed, then cleared her throat, "where should I hide your gear?" She knew about the secret closet back in Metropolis, but she had no idea where he kept his thing in Star City.

"You can just shove it in the closet," he told her, glancing at her again, too tired to try and explain where his secret room was in the penthouse.

She shoved the pants in the closet then quickly moved to the living room and gathered all of his things, doing the same with them before closing the door and turning to face him again, "do you need anything?"

"When can I have more of those painkillers?" he asked, only half-joking.

"I'm sure the doctor will prescribe you something a lot stronger," she remained serious as she watched him, "did he say how long he would be?"

Oliver shook his head a little. "He was across town. Depends on traffic." 

With an impatient glance towards the clock, she nodded and shifted from foot to foot, stopping herself from pacing but unable to make herself sit down either, "maybe you should drink some more water."

"Chloe, relax," he murmured, laying back on the bed again.

Pursing her lips together, she nodded a little, "I'm fine."

"You can sit down."

"I'm okay, Oliver," she told him, "just try to relax until he gets here."

He let out a breath. "How bad do I look?" he asked uncertainly.

"Bad." She told him worriedly, "and you bled a lot more on the way here, there's just no color in your face and you look like you lost thirty pounds."

He grimaced. "This is the part where you're supposed to lie and tell me I still look hot," he joked.

"If you had given me a call three days ago, I just might," she glared at him and raised an eyebrow.

"That's not how I work." He didn't open his eyes to look at her.

"Yeah, well, we'll have to change that," her voice was firm as she crossed her arms over her chest.

He raised an eyebrow. "How do you plan to do that?" he couldn't help but ask. He wasn't trying to be sarcastic or funny, but his curiosity peaked. Because he had a feeling that Chloe was already working on some kind of plan with that goal in mind.

"You'll see," she told him quietly, "just get some rest, Oliver."

Oliver watched her for a moment. "All right," he said uncertainly.

At that moment, she heard the buzzer going off in the living room and nodded, "must be him, I'll buzz him in," and without waiting for him to say anything else, she rushed out of the bedroom.

He sighed softly, draping his forearm over his eyes. He wasn't entirely sure what just happened.

Dr. Hamilton was there for about half an hour, apparently there wasn't a whole lot he could do anymore. The stab wound was deep but was already healing, so he couldn't stitch up the wound anymore. According to him, it would only make things worse. He cleaned the area and covered it with a new set of bandages that went around Oliver's back to keep him from bending forward too much and opening the wound again, and promised painkillers would be delivered in an hour or so. He also informed Oliver that he was dehydrated and needed to change that in order to heal faster.

By the time he left, Chloe was slightly relieved to know that Oliver was going to be okay as long as he gave himself time to heal, but she knew if he was on his own, that would never happen, which just made the decision she was considering earlier that much clearer, at least for the time being.

"See? Gonna be just fine." He smiled faintly as he leaned back against the headboard.

"Yeah, but you're dehydrated and you shouldn't be walking around," she told him as she walked to the empty side of the bed and sat down on the edge, facing him.

His smile slipped just a little. "I'll heal soon."

"I'll make sure of it."

"What?" His eyebrows furrowed a little.

"I said I wouldn't leave until I made sure you were okay," she said seriously, watching him. He didn't need to know she wasn't only referring to that particular wound, not yet.

Oliver gazed back at her for a moment, not sure he understood her correctly. "Chloe, Dr. Hamilton said it could be weeks before I'm totally healed."

"So? I don't have anything better to do," she told him, "and I'm not leaving you alone here so you can be stubborn and make things worse than they need to be."

He fell silent, considering her words. "Are you sure about this? Because I kind of have a feeling that Clark and Lois won't exactly be happy."

Chloe shrugged a shoulder, "I can just tell them I need some time away, because of Lex and the Planet," which wasn't exactly a lie, "I'm sure it will be fine."

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "All right."

Nodding, she let out a breath and stood up, "the painkillers should be here soon, I'll get them to you when they arrive."

"Chloe?" His voice was quiet.

"Yeah?" She raised her eyebrows a little.

"Thank you."

The hint of a smile appeared on her lips and she nodded, watching him for a second, "get some rest, call me if you need help with anything."

"All right." He held her gaze, a faint smile touching his lips as well. Then he watched her go.


	4. Chapter 4

When Chloe woke up the next morning, she was doing her best to be as quiet as possible. The drugs hadn't gotten there until almost three in the morning, so she guessed Oliver was going to be out for a while. She made her way to the kitchen and looked through the cabinets for a second until she found the coffee he had promised would be there and after about two minutes had managed to figure out how to work the obviously incredibly expensive coffee maker.

It wasn't until she heard the faint buzzing of a cell phone that she thought of checking hers, as the coffee brewed, she rushed to the living room and retrieved it from her purse, which was still on the floor where she had left it last night and frowned when she saw Clark's name flashing on the screen.

"Hey," she picked up, checking on the time, it was almost one in Metropolis, she just hoped Clark hadn't been trying to call her all morning.

"Hey, are you all right? I came by the Talon and you weren't there." There was worry in his tone.

"I'm okay," she told him, pursing her lips together, "I'm in Star City."

Clark paused for a long moment. "You're...in Star City?" he echoed, confused.

"Yeah..." she pursed her lips together, holding her breath. Clark didn't even know she had been working for Oliver so she knew this was going to be a long call.

"What are you doing there?" His eyebrows furrowed and he sat down on her sofa.

"Oliver needed some help," she told him, holding her breath and glancing down the hallway, "I might have to stay here for a while."

At that, he frowned. "Oliver? Chloe..."

"I'm _fine_ Clark, and I'm not in danger, I promise," she told him quietly, but she knew that wasn't going to be enough so she figured she'd better say more before he asked questions, "besides, there's a beach just across the street and considering my unemployed status, I figured I could use some vacation time."

He sighed softly. "How _is_ Oliver?"

She blinked, a little surprised by the question but shrugged, "he's doing okay."

"Good." He was quiet for a moment. "What are you helping him with?"

"Just a little corporate research, nothing dangerous. He has a few competitors trying to enter the market here and he wanted me to get some data on the companies they already own and figure out the best way to stop them from gaining market share and taking over Queen Industries' consumers." She knew if she talked business, Clark wouldn't be too interested in it.

She was right about that. His eyes had already begun to glaze over. "Oh. Okay. As long as it's nothing dangerous. Any idea how long you'll be there?"

Smirking a little, Chloe shook her head, "I don't know, but I'll update you."

Clark sighed softly. "Just be careful, Chloe. And if you need anything, I can be there in a few seconds."

"Thanks, Clark, I know. I'll give you a call if I need your help, and you do the same?"

"I will," he agreed. "And Chloe?"

"Yeah?" She asked, raising her eyebrows a little.

"I'm not telling Lois."

Sighing softly, Chloe nodded and rubbed a hand over her face, " _thanks_ , Clark," she told him, her voice filled with sarcasm, "I'll give her a call," she knew it wasn't going to be nearly as easy to get out of that particular conversation.

"I'd die for you, but you're not sticking me with that job, Chlo. Sorry." There was a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Uh huh, don't worry about it, she will end up venting about it to you," she grinned softly.

"As long as you don't tell her you told me first, I think I'll be able to handle it." He paused. "Right?"

"I'll make sure I tell her how you told me to call her and let her know, I'll also ask her to stop by the farm and spend some time with you since I'm out of town and you tend to get lonely," she smirked slowly.

"You _wouldn't_."

Snickering, Chloe shrugged a little, "I'll talk to you later, Clark."

"Chloe." There was a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

"Have a good weekend, Clark," she teased, smiling. She knew that Clark, as much as he protested, usually enjoyed spending time with Lois.

He sighed heavily. "You too," he grumbled.

"Bye," she told him before hanging up the phone.

At that moment, the floor creaked as Oliver made his way slowly down the hall.

Chloe blinked and turned around, raising her eyebrows, "hey, you're up."

He started, his eyes widening a little at the sound of her voice. "And you're actually here."

"What, did you think you were dreaming or something?" She asked, surprised.

"Maybe," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "Did you get any sleep?"

"Yeah," she watched him silently for a moment, "how are you feeling?"

Oliver decided against responding with 'like I was stabbed in the gut.' Instead he shrugged a little. "Better."

"Liar," she told him, frowning a little, "you shouldn't be walking around."

He'd just given her his best poker face. How the hell had she seen through it so easily? He frowned a little. Maybe he was losing his touch. "I'll go back to bed after I eat and shower."

"How about you shower, go back to bed and eat while laying down?" It wasn't so much of a suggestion.

He didn't remember her being quite this pushy when he'd been in Metropolis before. "If I eat laying down I'll choke."

With a roll of her eyes, she gave him a look, "you can sit up against the pillows if you're nice."

He frowned. "I'm always nice." He paused. "Well. To you."

"Then do me a favor, tell me the best place for breakfast tacos in the area and go take a shower."

"There's a diner on Fourth and Madison called The East End Grill. They deliver. Number's on the fridge." He turned and headed toward the hall once more.

Chloe's eyes widened a little as he walked away, surprised that he was actually doing what she... not so much asked but _told_ him to. She wasn't going to ask any questions, instead, she walked over to the fridge and looked at all the menus until finding the one he had told her about.

Oliver headed into the bathroom, a little uncertain about what was going on. He wasn't used to having anyone there with him, and he was even less used to someone being there and telling him what to do. Feeling confused as he climbed into the shower, he rubbed a hand over his face.

She placed the order, ordering half a dozen more tacos than they probably would need and hanging up the phone. She wasn't sure why Oliver was actually listening to her, or even _how_ she managed to get that to happen, but she hoped he kept doing that, although she was sure it wasn't gonna last once he was off of the meds.

After his shower, he managed to put on a pair of green sweatpants and head back to bed. If he admitted it to himself, he was in too much pain to argue with Chloe about anything. He laid down in the bed, exhaling slowly and shutting his eyes.

She heard him get out of the shower but didn't want to bother him, so she sipped on her coffee in the kitchen as she read the news on her laptop until the buzzer went off when their food got there. She grabbed the box and with a deep breath, made her way to his room. This whole thing was more than just kind of awkward, she barely knew Oliver, she mostly knew him from what her cousin had told her when they were dating and the few missions they had worked on together and now she was staying at his house, playing nurse, with no plans to leave. Chloe paused at the door of his room and looked inside, hoping he hadn't fallen asleep because that'd make things worse.

Oliver turned his head when he heard the sound of footsteps and looked toward the door where Chloe was standing. "Please tell me you come bearing food."

Grinning slightly in relief, she nodded, holding out the box, "lots of it, now, I have coffee, but I don't know what you non-coffee drinkers usually have for breakfast."

"Milk or orange juice," he said with faint amusement. "How much is lots, exactly?"

Chloe just smirked at him and shrugged, making room on his bedside table and setting the box there before leaving the room again and coming back a second later with her refilled coffee mug and a glass of juice for him, "and I guess you can have more painkillers after you eat."

There was a God. He couldn't help the look of relief that passed over his face at her words and eyed the rather large box of food. "Are we expecting Impulse?"

"Well, I'm hungry and I figured you'd be too, besides, you need to eat with all the stuff you're taking." She told him, opening the box and handing him a breakfast taco then taking one for herself, "besides, you'll be sleeping all day, I have to have something to keep me entertained."

"The big flat-screen with surround sound entertainment center isn't entertaining?" He couldn't help but tease her as he took the taco from her.

"I'm a multi-tasker," she informed him with a smirk as she walked around the bed and sat down on the other side.

He grinned as he took a bite of the food, then chewed and swallowed before he spoke again. "And who says I'll be sleeping all day?"

Chloe cocked her head and gave him a look, "please, with all those drugs, even if you're awake, you'll be as much of a skilled conversationalist as a zombie."

At that he arched an eyebrow. "Do you have a lot of conversations with zombies?" he teased.

"I watch a lot of movies, we all know they tell nothing but the truth," she smirked and took a bite of her food.

He smirked back. "Well, here's hoping we never actually run into any."

Chloe sighed deeply and gave him a look, "you know it's going to happen now, right?"

Oliver grimaced and looked at her sideways. "Crap."

"Sharp weapons," she said with a shrug and took another bite.

"Maybe we should start laying out plans for a possible zombie apocalypse," he answered, taking another bite of his food, as well.

"Might not be a bad idea," she nodded, "I'd say alien invasion, but we've been through that one before."

Oliver cocked an eyebrow. "Must have missed that memo."

"Dark Thursday? I told you about that right? Although I guess technically a couple of aliens don't necessarily make an invasion."

"So that's what caused Dark Thursday? Aliens?" He frowned a little. "So how was Lex involved, exactly?"

"One of the aliens needed a vessel and he took over Lex's body, his name was Zod and I never got all the details, but from what I heard, he was responsible for the destruction of Krypton," she told him as briefly as possible, she knew the whole alien stuff made Oliver slightly uncomfortable.

"Huh." He blinked a couple of times and tried to process that information. "So a psycho set on destroying the earth took over the body of another psycho set on destroying the earth."

"Perfect plan, right?" She smirked a little and shrugged, "although I think it's less about destroying Earth and more about taking over Earth."

"Yeah, well, when it comes to Lex Luthor I'm not sure there's really a difference."

"You have a point," she nodded a little and sighed softly.

"Good thing we're not going to let that happen." Without thinking about it, he reached out and touched her arm.

Chloe paused and raised her eyebrows a little, looking down at his hand then smiling softly at him, "that's the plan."

He nodded, then took another bite of his taco. "So what else is going on in Kansas?" he asked, his voice growing softer.

"Not much, I talked to Clark this morning," she told him, sipping on her coffee.

Oliver winced. "Oh yeah?"

Chloe couldn't help but be amused by the expression on his face, "didn't tell him much, told him I was helping you with business stuff, he lost interest," she smirked, "of course I still have to talk to _Lois_ and that won't be nearly as much fun."

He grimaced a little. "No, I imagine not." He knew how protective Lois was of her favorite cousin. "Especially not when she hears _my_ name."

She made a face and nodded a little, "yeah, I don't think that will help."

He was quiet for a moment. "You should go home, Chloe."

She paused and frowned, watching him, "because your relationship with my cousin didn't end well?"

"Because I don't want to cause more problems than I already have," he answered, taking a long drink of juice.

"You're not causing any problems, Oliver, I'm here because I want to be, you're not forcing me to stay, so stop blaming yourself."

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, falling silent for a long moment. "I never meant to hurt her."

Chloe's face fell a little and she nodded, "I know, Oliver, and honestly? I think she knows that too, it just might take her a while to reach that conclusion."

He glanced at her sideways. "Clark told me in the beginning. He tried to warn me that I'd just end up hurting her because of who I am. I should have listened."

"And Clark really has a lot of relationship background to talk, right?" She gave him a look then shook her head, "it just wasn't the right time, you told her your secret and things still didn't work out, it's not about who you are or what you do, it was just the circumstances."

Oliver sighed softly, resting his head back against the headboard. "Maybe," he murmured.

"Maybe you will try again in a few years, who knows?"

"I don't think so, Chloe." He shook his head.

She sighed softly and lifted a hand to his arm, shrugging, "who needs relationships anyway, right?"

He glanced at her sideways, frowning. "Wait, aren't you seeing someone?" he asked uncertainly.

"Was," she smiled slightly and shrugged a shoulder.

"What happened?"

"He got tired of feeling like he wasn't my priority," she admitted guiltily, "I can't blame him, I mean, it's not like I can tell him why I run every time Clark calls."

Oliver sighed and draped an arm around her shoulders, giving her a small, affectionate squeeze. "You're kind of amazing, you know that?"

Raising her eyebrows slightly, she looked up at him, uncertain, "thanks?"

He looked down at her, a small smile on his lips. "You sacrifice everything in order to help Clark and me. There aren't too many people who'd be willing to do that, Chloe."

"You guys are sacrificing everything too," she told him, "Clark with Lana and you with Lois, the least I can do is help out where I can."

"It's appreciated," he said quietly. "Even if it goes unsaid a lot of the time." He paused. "Most of the time."

"I'm glad," she said just as quietly, "you guys do so much, I'm glad I'm able to help, even if it's indirectly."

"You've made it a lot easier on the rest of us," he told her with a small smile.

"Same goes to you," she told him, raising her eyebrows slightly.

At that, he raised his eyebrows. "How have I made your life easier?" Because as far as he could tell, he'd just made it more complicated and possibly more dangerous.

"Oh I have no doubt you'll get a chance to rescue me from _something_ ," she told him with a soft smirk.

"If I do it's probably going to be from someone or something you're in trouble over because of me anyway," he said with a returned smirk.

Rolling her eyes, she shook her head, "what did I tell you about the guilt tripping?"

"I don't recall you saying anything about _pre-emptive_ guilt tripping." He grinned.

At that, she groaned and shook her head, "that's even worse."

He chuckled a little, pressing a hand to his stomach. "I try."

Chloe made a face and raised her eyebrows, looking down at his stomach, concerned, "are you okay?"

"I'll live." He smiled faintly, wondering when he'd last laughed as much as he had in the last day.

"I'll make sure of it," she told him, watching him quietly.

Oliver glanced over at her again, not quite sure what to make of the seriousness in her tone. "Careful. Might try to steal Boy Scout's sidekick if you keep that up," he teased.

"Pretty sure I can handle both of you," smirking, she raised her eyebrows, "not so sure you can handle me, though."

He smirked back at her. "I think you may be underestimating me."

"Or maybe you're underestimating me," she held his gaze, cockign her head and giving him a mischievous look.

"Not in a _million_ years," he informed her.

Raising her eyebrows, she smiled at him, "you just might make it."

Oliver smiled back at her. "Maybe we both will."

"I like that plan."

He liked that plan, too.


	5. Chapter 5

Two more days had passed and by that time, Lois was starting to get really uncharacteristically upset with her favorite cousin. Determined not to let another sunset without speaking to the younger blond, she dialed her number. And she hoped Chloe knew for her own sake that if she didn't pick up the damn phone, all hell was going to break loose.

Chloe knew and that was why she winced when she saw the name flashing on her cell phone screen, she placed her laptop aside and took a deep breath before answering, "hey, Lo." She tried for casual but was holding her breath, it had been too long since they had last talked and it was uncharacteristic for Lois not to contact her every other day at least, so she knew Clark had told Lois at least part of it and Lois had been waiting for Chloe to call so she could yell at her, but Lois had never been the most patient person.

"Since when do you leave the state for a week and not even bother to _call_ or text or email me to let me know what's going on? If it hadn't been for Clark, I would have thought you'd been kidnapped! What the hell, Chloe?"

Sighing softly, Chloe rubbed a hand over her face, she had meant to call Lois, she really had, but playing nurse had been taking a lot more of her time than she expected, "I'm sorry, Lo, I figured Clark would have updated you."

"Only because I grabbed him by his shirt collar and demanded to know what the hell was going on," she said with a huff.

Chloe pursed her lips together tightly to avoid laughing inappropriately at the very amusing mental image, "Sorry, Lo, I should have called."

"Damn right you should have." She drew in a breath and let it out slowly, frowning even as most of her worry and anger drained away. "And you're all right?"

"I'm okay," she assured her cousin, "are you?"

"Fine, now that I know you're really still alive and on the planet." Lois sighed softly. "Now you wanna tell me what's going on in California?"

After pulling the phone away to take a deep breath in preparation for her answer, Chloe pulled the phone back to her ear, "well... Oliver needed help with some research and since I'm unemployed, I figured I shouldn't pass up the opportunity to make some money."

She paused for a moment, leaning forward slightly in her chair. "What kind of research?" she asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

Chloe hated lying to Clark, she just didn't like doing it even when she knew it was necessary, but she really, _really_ hated having to lie to her cousin, especially when she had to do it on such a regular basis, "just business stuff, he needed information on some of his competitors."

Lois relaxed a little. "Oh. And how is Oliver?" she asked after a moment.

Chloe relaxed too, glad that she was more interested in the Oliver portion of the story, "he's doing okay."

"Good." She paused again. "You tell him that if _anything_ bad happens to you while you're there, I'll personally take a flight to Star City and kick his ass."

She couldn't help but smile, that was exactly what she expected from Lois, "I'll let him know, Lo."

Lois sighed softly. "How much longer are you going to be there?" she asked curiously.

"I'm not sure," she admitted, "maybe another couple of weeks..."

"There's that much competition for Queen Industries?"

"Apparently some new people are trying to enter the market," Chloe answered quietly, "but I'm not complaining, I mean, at least I'm getting paid and I get to be in a coastal city for free, right?"

"You have a point there," Lois admitted, reluctantly admitting to herself that in addition to that, her cousin probably needed time away from Metropolis and Smallville after Lex had fired her. Wincing she sat forward in her chair again. "Do you need any help out there? I could be on the next plane to California. You just say the word."

Chloe shook her head a little, sitting up, "no, I'm okay, it's not too much work, just updating him on things constantly."

"All right," she said quietly. "He's taking care of you, right?"

"He's being a good host and a good boss, don't worry, Lo." Chloe smiled softly then paused, looking down the hall where she could still hear the shower running but lowering her voice anyway, "this doesn't bother you, does it?"

"Why would it?" Lois frowned. "Ollie's a good guy, and as long as you're safe and he's being nice, I don't have any problems."

With a soft, relieved sigh, Chloe nodded, smiling softly, "I just wanted to check, glad to know it doesn't."

Lois smiled a bit. "I'm just glad you're all right. I'm sorry I wasn't around more after everything that happened." Her voice dropped. "But come hell or high water, I'm going to find a way to take down Lex Luthor. You'll be back at the Planet in no time if I have anything to say about it."

At that, Chloe stilled, shaking her head, "Lois, no. Lex is dangerous, and it's bad enough that he fired me, I don't want him to do anything to you. I'm looking into him, and I'm being careful, and as soon as I find something, I'll ask for your help, but I don't want you looking into him, especially since I'm sure he has everything bugged at the Planet."

"Like I'd do it at the Planet?" She frowned.

"Still," Chloe warned her, "let me look into it, okay? I don't want you getting in trouble too."

"Trouble? I never get into trouble," she said cheerfully. "Besides, baldie's too wrapped up in obsessing over Lana Lang to pay attention to what little ole me is doing, Chlo. Don't worry. I'll be careful. And if I find anything, you'll be the first to know."

With a soft sigh, Chloe rubbed her face, "okay, but I'll need you to promise me something."

"What's that?"

"If you go anywhere, look for information, you're bringing Clark with you."

Lois almost laughed. "Clark Kent? You're kidding me, right? So then I have to protect his ass too?"

"Promise me, Lois." Chloe said seriously.

She sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll take Smallville with me and if push comes to shove, I'll throw him in the line of fire and run." She grinned. "Kidding."

"Thank you," She sighed too and leaned back against the couch, "and you know, he can be more handy than you'd give him credit for."

"Well, the boy knows a lot about cows, that's for sure." She smirked.

"That he does," Chloe smiled a little, making a mental note to give Clark a call and make sure he was keeping an eye on Lois, just in case.

"I miss you," Lois said quietly. "But it's good to talk to you even if it's just on the phone."

Her face softened and Chloe nodded, smiling slightly, "I miss you too, and I promise I will call you more often."

"You'd better. It's not like Mr. Money Bags can't afford it," she said with a smirk.

"And you can call me anytime too, Ms. Lane."

"Oh, I will be," Lois agreed with a grin. There was a knock on the door. "Dinner just arrived. Talk to you soon?"

"Yeah, talk to you soon, be careful." Because with Lois, it was good to remind her as often as possible.

"I'm always careful," Lois responded. "You be careful, too." Because being drawn to trouble ran in their family.

Chloe nodded, "I'll be, talk to you later, Lo."

"Bye, Chlo. Love you."

"Love you too, Lo." Chloe said before hanging up the phone. At least that had gone a lot better than it could have, even the yelling was minimal.

* * *

Oliver made his way out of the shower slowly, tugging on a pair of boxers and sweatpants. He would have thought a week in bed would have been enough to get a lot of healing done and for some of the pain to subside, but unfortunately that didn't seem to be the case. Exhaling slowly, he didn't even bother to finish drying off, he simply hung the towel back up and headed for bed once more.

Right after she hung up the phone, she heard Oliver coming out of the shower and with a deep breath, stood up, as she walked into his room, she stopped, all she could see was his still mostly wet bare back and although there was no denying that Oliver was incredibly attractive, she had been doing her best to ignore that while she was there in order not to make things awkward, but right then, when she saw the muscles on his shoulders, back and arms, perfectly built and glistening with the water, she couldn't help but stare.

Resting a hand lightly against his abdomen, he made his way to the bed, sitting down on the side of it and looking up, startled to see Chloe there where she hadn't been just a moment before. "Hi."

First, she had to close her mouth, swallow, and blink, and then she could look away and try to pull herself together, "hey," she said quietly, raising her eyebrows a little, "hm, bandages, we should get you new ones."

He watched her for a moment, uncertain about the look on her face. "Do I still look that bad?"

Blinking, she raised her eyebrows, "what? No," she paused, blinking, "you look a lot better." Much, much better.

"Oh. Well, that's good," he said with a small smile. Looking better was an improvement, even if he didn't feel a lot better.

"You're not dehydrated anymore," she said quietly, smiling slightly and looking at him.

Oliver met her eyes and smiled back a bit more. "You've been taking good care of me. Of course I'm not." His voice was light and he leaned back in bed, exhaling slowly. "Hell, I think I should be giving you a pay raise for your nursing skills."

"You're already paying me anyway," she reminded him, grabbing everything she needed from the bedside table and kneeling on the bed carefully, "and I haven't been doing a lot of research."

"I know I'm already paying you, but I meant a raise."

Chloe paused and shook her head, sitting down on the bed and smiling slightly, "you didn't even ask me to come, Oliver, you're not paying me for demanding you let me take care of you."

He reached out and touched her hand that was resting on the bed. "I know I didn't. But I do appreciate it." His voice was quiet. 

Pursing her lips together she looked down at his hand when it touched hers and nodded, smiling softly as she looked at him again, "I'm glad you do, but it doesn't mean you should pay me for it."

Oliver rolled his eyes. "Deal with it, Watchtower."

"I'm serious, Oliver," she told him with a frown, "you're not paying me for this, I'm here because I want to be, because I care what happens to you, even if you don't."

Her words made him pause. "I care," he responded with a slight frown.

"By nearly bleeding to death while hiding in a dusty house, without calling for help, with a stab wound that could have punctured an organ or two?" She narrowed her eyes at him, raising one eyebrow.

"That's complicated. It doesn't mean I don't care. It's not like I have an actual deathwish, Chloe."

Chloe shifted closer and started working on his bandages, looking down at his wound, "then explain it to me."

He was quiet for a moment. "People know that the Green Arrow works with others on a semi-regular basis." He paused. "Lex Luthor knows it. It wouldn't just be my identity at stake if the wrong person figures out who I am. That's not a risk I'm willing to take."

Sighing, she shook her head and gave him a look, "that still doesn't explain why you didn't call one of _us_ Oliver."

Oliver diverted his eyes. "I thought I was dying," he admitted quietly.

Tightening her jaw, she glared angrily at him, "and if I hadn't found you, you _would_ have!"

He flinched at the anger in her voice and glanced at her, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

Chloe took a deep breath and pursed her lips together but didn't say anything else, going back to work on his bandages.

Oliver watched her for a moment, then exhaled slowly, laying his head back against the headboard. "This is new for me, Chloe." His voice was very quiet.

She swallowed and paused, but didn't look up at him, just continued to work on his wound, "what is?"

"The idea that someone actually cares," he admitted.

Her chest tightened, but she kept on going and still didn't look at him, mostly because she wasn't sure she would be able to control her emotions if she looked him in the eye, "get used to it."

A faint smile touched his lips. "I'll do my best," he said quietly.


	6. Chapter 6

Chloe had been in Star City for almost a month now and every day, Oliver looked better, his wound was pretty much just a scar now. According to him, it was still sore and according to Dr. Hamilton, who had been checking in on Oliver every few days, he still wasn't allowed to do anything out of the ordinary, not even go to the gym, which Oliver figured that no gym meant he wasn't allowed to put on his costume again.

She wasn't so sure he was quite ready for that just yet, he had been in bed for weeks and she wanted to make sure this wasn't going to happen again when he did start to patrol. Either way, he was allowed to go into the office and that was where he was while she sat on the couch, laptop on her lap as she looked for any updates on what Lex was planning next.

Oliver returned a few hours later, tired but not overly so. Not like he'd been for the last several weeks. To his board members and staff, he'd simply been 'out of the country' on an 'extended vacation'. Which they probably assumed meant he was on a drunken binge somewhere and were probably just amazed he'd managed to avoid the tabloids. The only one who knew the truth was currently sitting curled up on his sofa looking very intent about whatever she was researching on her computer.

"Honey, I'm home," he teased.

Chloe looked up when she heard him and smirked a little, raising her eyebrows, "and in a good mood, apparently, not sure I understand that," she teased back.

He grinned a little and set down his briefcase. "Are you saying I've been in a bad mood the entire time you've been here?"

"Pretty much, yeah," she smirked some more, eyebrows raising.

Oliver frowned. "I have? Really?"

Chloe shook her head a little and rolled her eyes, "no, not really, honestly if I had to stay in bed that long, I would be a lot bitchier."

He relaxed a little, shrugging his jacket off and hanging it up, loosening his tie. "I actually don't feel too bad today," he told her.

"That's good," she said sincerely, leaning forward to place her laptop on the coffee table, "and you'll be happy to know that Lex didn't make any attempts to take over the Earth today."

He paused and cocked his head to the side. "What? Did the day stop ending in 'y' and someone neglected to inform me?" He smirked.

"Yeah, I'm still trying to decide if this is a good or a bad thing, considering if he's quiet, he's probably plotting something big," she made a face and shook her head, "Lois had a lead on something but apparently she had to go and will call me later, I don't know if it was Lex-related or not."

"You know what you need?" He raised his eyebrows at her, a hint of mischievousness in his eyes.

Cocking her head, she raised her eyebrows back at him, not allowing her brain to go places that were completely inappropriate when it came to Oliver, "no, but you seem to?"

"Naturally." He flashed her a bright, charming smile. "You need a night off. So what say you put the laptop away for the night and get changed and we'll go out to dinner?"

Because that charming smile was exactly what she needed to stop her brain from going there. Not. And then he wanted to take her out to dinner and there was a whole new direction her mind wanted to explore, but she refused that one even harder, "you do realize I haven't actually been working or doing much of anything since I came to Star City, right? And playing nurse doesn't count as working, FYI."

"I beg to differ because I have it on good authority that being bed-ridden for a long time makes me grouchy." He smirked at her. "So." He gazed at her intently, then motioned her toward the hall.

"I guess since you _have_ been bed-ridden for so long, I can make an effort and go to dinner with you," she told him, standing up and stepping closer so she could walk down the hall, "but regardless of your mood, it still doesn't qualify as work."

His smirk widened. "All right. So if it wasn't business, then it was pleasure?" he teased, meeting her eyes.

Her eyes widened and she almost didn't stop herself from asking him if he had gotten some, he was _gloating_ , "okay, what happened to you?"

Oliver chuckled at the look on her face. "Nothing. Just trying to prove a point."

"What, _exactly_ is your point?"

"That taking care of me is work and you deserve a night off." He grinned.

"Well, if I agree to a night _out_ ," she stressed her change in his wording, "will you quit trying to get me to agree that taking care of my _friend_ is work?"

He paused at that, considering. "For a couple of days. But you already agreed to that part, so I think your argument is null and void." He chuckled.

"Alright," she crossed her arms over her chest and eyed him, taking him up on the challenge, "what if _I_ got hurt? If I got stabbed and couldn't do anything for weeks, and you had to feed me and change my bandages and help me move around, would _you_ see it as work? As a chore?"

His smile instantly slipped. "Completely different situation."

"How so?"

"Well, first off, you'd have gone to the hospital. And secondly, there wouldn't be a first off because that's never going to happen." Now he was frowning.

"I've gotten hurt pretty badly before, it could happen again." She told him matter-of-factly, not oblivious to the change in his expression, but she was tired of him thinking he wasn't allowed to have someone who would care about him without thinking it was just their obligation to or without wanting something in return, "and if I couldn't go to the hospital and you absolutely had to, would you expect me to want to pay you back for helping me or want to reward you somehow for all the 'work'?"

Oliver swallowed hard and looked down at the floor for a moment. "No," he admitted.

Chloe watched him and nodded, the hint of a satisfied smirk appearing on her face, "well, that's reciprocal."

It was and that scared the hell out of him. Not that he'd ever admit that. "Fine. So then it's a _pleasure_ taking care of me," he said, his voice light even though his eyes were troubled.

"I wouldn't go that far," she teased lightly, smiling slightly at him, "but since I won the argument, you get to buy me dinner," she figured she had done enough damage to his clearly sensitive ego as it was and she should give him that much.

"And _that_ ," he said quietly. "Is _my_ pleasure."

Pursing her lips together, she watched him for a moment then smiled, "I'll go get ready," and without waiting for an answer, she turned around and started down the hall.

Oliver watched her go, trying to ignore the warmth in his heart that was making itself known.

***

It didn't take her long to get ready, in the middle of the summer, in Star City, there wasn't a lot of clothing necessary, she almost went with a dress, but she didn't want Oliver to get the wrong idea, or think that she thought this was some kind of date, so she chose a pair of jeans and one of her nicer tops, an orange one that went with her flat sandals, she didn't know what kind of restaurant Oliver had in mind so that should be acceptable for whatever place he chose.

After touching up her make up and telling herself she was only making an effort in case they were seen in public by someone he knew and she didn't want to embarrass him, she picked up her purse and made her way back to the living room, "okay, I'm ready."

He turned to face her, already changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt himself. She looked much more relaxed than he was used to seeing her and he couldn't help but smile. "Anything in particular sound good?" he asked.

"Food?" She teased, shrugging a shoulder, "I'm pretty hungry but I don't really know the restaurants around here so... what do you suggest?" Since Oliver was hurt and she didn't know the area, she had only really eaten whatever food could be delivered to the penthouse.

"Well, how do you feel about burgers, fries and milkshakes?" he asked, amusement in his eyes. He recalled Lois telling him that the love of greasy burgers and fries ran in the family.

Chloe cocked her head, watching him with a suspicious smirk, "okay, now I _know_ you're not feeling well."

He grinned at her. "I feel fine. I didn't say that's what _I_ was going to have," he teased.

Smirking, she shook her head again, "do I even wanna know how you know what my food of choice is?"  
His smile turned mysterious. "Maybe I'm just that good at guessing."

" _Right_ ," she teased, raising her eyebrows, "let’s see if your burgers are as good as Metropolis'."

"Oh, I sense my city being challenged here." Oliver grinned and led the way to the elevator. "Hopefully it doesn't let you down."

"I liked the food here so far, but burgers will be a deciding factor." She smirked, walking with him.

"On which city is better?" he asked with a smirk.

"Oh, your city isn't beating mine," she told him, teasingly, "but it might make it to second place in ranking." 

"Hah. My city already beats Metropolis solely based on the great view," he teased back.

"Metropolis' skyline is amazing, and we have the lake and the park, we have a great view too," she told him, leaning back against the elevator wall.

"We have the ocean, and two parks." Oliver smirked.

"We're bigger and we have MetU," she pointed out.

"Bigger means more traffic, more crime and more pollution," he countered as the elevator descended.

Rolling her eyes, she smirked and shrugged, "keeps us entertained."

"Besides. Metropolis has _Lex_. Star City has _me_." He flashed her another charming smile.

"Hey, Lex isn't the only person living in Metropolis, or are you billionaires the only people that matter?" She teased, "besides, technically, he lives in Smallville and you won't hear me arguing in Smallville's favor."

Oliver laughed. "That's good. I mean, if this city doesn't at least rank above Smallville, we're in trouble."

"I don't think many rank below Smallville when you really consider all of it," she grinned, relaxing when he laughed.

He grinned back at her. "Gotham."

"Well, Gotham isn't completely bad, I mean, at least they have more than _one_ movie theater," she teased.

"True. There are plenty of movie theaters around that one can get murdered in during their two hour stay."

Rolling her eyes, she pushed herself from the wall when the elevator doors slid open, "pessimist."

"You say pessimism, I say reality," he responded with a smirk, following her out of the elevator.

"Wouldn't you say realist?" She teased, grinning, "can I just point out how glad I am you get to drive again?"

"Why's that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because the car I rented didn't have a GPS and I had no idea where I was going?" She told him with a smirk.

He frowned a little. "Chloe, why'd you rent a car?"

"It was just for the first couple of days, Ollie, I kinda needed something to take me around."

"Right." He nodded. "Forgot about that."

"If I didn't have my cell phone, I'd be really screwed," she told him, patting her purse.

"Because Lois would kill you if she couldn't talk to you every night for at least an hour?" He smiled.

"Because I was calling places and asking them how to get there," she told him, raising her eyebrows, "but that too."

"Right." He nodded a little and unlocked the door to his car, pulling the passenger side door open for her without thinking about it.

Chloe raised her eyebrows and grinned a little, "thanks."

"You're welcome." He smiled back at her and headed for the driver's side, sliding in behind the wheel.

With a deep breath, she leaned against her seat and buckled her seatbelt, "so where is this place?"

"Not far. A few blocks." He started the car and buckled his seatbelt, as well. It was an indoor/outdoor cafe on the beach, but he decided to let her see that for herself.

"Good, I just realized I'm starving," she told him, smiling softly. It was nice for them to be out for a change.

"Me too," he admitted with a smile. He drove them in comfortable silence, parking the car in the small lot a few moments later. "Well, here we are."

"That was fast," she commented, looking around, she didn't realize they were actually going to the beach, she was glad she had flats on. As she got out of the car, she realized that the cafe faced the ocean and even though it was almost eight, the sun was just starting to set.

"Well, like you said, city's not as big as Metropolis." He smiled and climbed out of the car.

"And traffic isn't as bad?" She teased, waiting for him before starting towards the cafe.

"Exactly. And notice the lack of pollution." He chuckled, offering her his arm.

With a roll of her eyes, she took his arm, "lead me to your greasy food, Californian, and then we'll talk."

Oliver laughed. "All right, Kansas..ian." He arched an eyebrow.

Chloe laughed too and shook her head, "you tried."

He sighed, leading the way into the cafe. "I think you just might be pleasantly surprised here, Sidekick."

"It looks decent enough until I can have my favorite again." 

Oliver's gut clenched a little at that. "Which is what, exactly?"

"You know that trailer on 7th? The one that looks very 70s-like?" She asked as they walked in, choosing a table that faced the ocean.

"No," he said softly, shaking his head. "Don't think I ever went there."

"I'll take you there," she promised, "but I won't tell you about it now, I wouldn't want to ruin your experience here."

He smiled faintly. "Duly noted."

She took the seat next to him so they were both facing the beach, "the ambiance is really nice, I'll give you that."

Oliver nodded a little, gazing out the window. "Yeah, it is," he said softly.

"You okay?" She asked, frowning a little, he had suddenly gotten quiet.

He forced himself to smile, glancing at her. "I'm good," he promised. "What kind of milkshake do you want?"

"Strawberry," she told him, picking up one of the menus but keeping an eye on Ollie.

"Woman after my own heart," he teased.

Raising her eyebrows, she smirked a little at him, "is that your favorite?"

"It is, actually." He grinned.

She grinned a little and nodded, "good to know."

He met her eyes for a moment and nodded back before looking out the window once more.

Chloe frowned slightly, watching him and sitting back against her chair, "what is going on?"

"What do you mean?" His eyebrows furrowed.

"You're all... lost in thought on me." She told him, eyes on him as she squinted slightly, she knew something was up, even when he was on painkillers he was more together. Okay, maybe not, but still.  
He smiled ruefully and shook his head. "Just forgot how nice it is to be outside in the world."

"Oh," she smiled a little and patted his arm, "make sure it doesn't happen again, or you'll be tied to the bed once more." Chloe paused, face flushing as she looked around, hoping no one heard her. With Oliver's fame, she knew exactly what the tabloids would say the next morning if anyone had heard her.

Oliver arched an eyebrow, a real grin touching his lips. "Interesting imagery," he murmured, glancing at her sideways.

Sighing, she mock glared at him, "you're telling me."

He chuckled and draped his arm around her shoulders as they waited on their food.

Chloe raised her eyebrows a little but smiled at him, "so is this a place you come often?"

"Not really," he admitted. "But it is good."

"Right, you don't do greasy food..." she teased him, leaning slightly closer.

He smiled, resting his head against hers. "Not generally. But I'll make an exception once in awhile."

"For me?" She raised her eyebrows, smiling at him, teasingly.

"Exactly. You're the exception to the rule." He glanced at her and smiled softly.

Chloe blinked, she was joking, of course, but he didn't seem to be, in fact, the look on his face made her heart stop for a second and their faces were so close, but she just couldn't make herself move away from him, swallowing, she raised her eyebrows, "I'll keep that in mind."

"Probably a good idea," he told her.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day, he was distracted at work. And not just a little distracted. He'd sat through a three hour teleconference with Wayne Industries and by the time it was over, he couldn't remember a thing they'd discussed.

It was about that time he decided his personal assistant, Janie, needed a raise since she'd been there, too, and had taken notes.

By two in the afternoon, he was growing increasingly frustrated and he couldn't even put his finger on the cause.

Until he found himself sending _her_ a text inquiring whether or not she'd prefer Chinese or pizza for dinner that night.

Then he sat back in his chair, staring at the message for a long time before hitting send.

He had no idea how she'd managed to insinuate herself so deeply into his day to day life in such a short period of time, and as much as he didn't want to like it, he did.

Oliver enjoyed her company. More than he should.

A lot more, in fact.

Holding his breath as he opened her text message, he swallowed hard. 'Chinese. The usual? I'll order.'

He was in trouble.

When he texted her to tell her he was leaving, Chloe called the restaurant and placed their order. Since Oliver was working again, she had to rely on herself to keep herself entertained during the day. Sure she was still monitoring all of Lex's activities, talking to both Lois and Clark on the phone pretty frequently and helping the rest of the team with whatever they needed, but still, that left her with far too much time in her hands.

So she had been exploring Star City by herself. It was still a big city, but not nearly as big as Metropolis, so there was almost a small town feeling about it, despite the traffic and all the people, it was more laid back than Metropolis, people seemed less stressed and she was pretty sure that the fact that they would just walk out of their apartment or work and take a walk on the beach helped. It sure helped her. Not that she had to admit it to Oliver, but his city was definitely growing on her.

Oliver arrived at the apartment less than thirty minutes later, shrugging out of his jacket when he stepped inside. He'd spent the last two hours somewhere between inwardly freaking out over the fact that she'd become some kind of a fixture in his life, and trying to come up with a plan to keep her from leaving it as abruptly as she'd entered it. "Ever been to the opera, Sidekick?" he called when he didn't spot her right away.

Chloe was in the guest room, putting away the clothes she had bought while she was out, she paused at the random question, stood up straight and walked over to the door, poking her head out, "no...? Do I wanna know why you're asking? And hi to you too." She teased, although she was still confused about his choice of greeting.

He grinned at her as he headed down the hall. "I'm asking because I happened to acquire two tickets to Phantom of the Opera for this weekend."

"You did?" She raised her eyebrows a little, cocking her head, "and you want me to come with you?"

Oliver nodded, holding the tickets up. "What do you say? Interested?" There was a hint of hopefulness in his voice.

Chloe, however, remained confused, "sure, but are you sure you don't have someone else you'd rather take?" He was Oliver Queen after all and women would pretty much kill themselves to go with him and she was sure they had something to wear.

"I'm sure," he answered without hesitation, a grin brightening a little when she agreed.

Blinking, she couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm and nodded, stepping out of the room, "when is it?"

"This weekend," he told her.

"Oh..." her eyes widened a little, "I guess I'll need to go shopping tomorrow again."

"Oh, you went shopping today? Find anything?"

"Yeah I needed some clothes that won't make me want to kill myself every time I have to go outside," she grinned, "not used to needing this many summer clothes."

Oliver chuckled, feeling himself beginning to relax a little. If she was buying clothes to be more comfortable in Star City's weather, maybe she wasn't so eager to go back to Kansas. "Good point."

"Yeah, even if I never wear them again, they will have been worth it," she grinned softly at him, "how dressed up do I have to be?"

His stomach tightened a little. "Pretty dressed up," he confessed. "So, you find a dress you like, and I'm buying it. Deal?" He smiled.

Rolling her eyes, she shook her head, "you already bought the tickets, why should you buy the dress?"

"I didn't buy the tickets. Bruce Wayne gave them to me," he informed her. "So..." He shrugged.

"Oh?" She raised her eyebrows, more interested in the reason behind it than the tickets now, "why?"

"Something about a merger of some kind. I don't know." He was pretty sure it had to do with the teleconference he hadn't paid attention to. "He's wooing me." He smirked.

Chloe smirked, "is he managing to?" She teased, her voice lowering and her eyebrows raising as she cocked her head to look at him.

He snorted. "In the business-way only. Although he probably _wishes_ I swung that way."

"That's not what I read," she teased more, completely aware of the both ways her sentence could be interpreted.

Oliver narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you ticklish by chance?" he asked.

Her eyes widened a little and she automatically stepped back, "no, why?"

An amused smirk tugged at his lips. "I think you're lying." He stepped toward her.

Pursing her lips together, she took another step back, "I have absolutely no reason to lie," and then she stopped, cocking her head, "are _you_ ticklish, Mr. Queen?"

"Nope," he responded, smirking.

"Liar," she narrowed her eyes, watching him suspiciously.

He shrugged, advancing on her and wiggling his fingers in a tickling motion.

Raising her eyebrows once more, she cocked her head to the opposite side, "and just what are you planning on doing?"

"Testing your claim," he answered, grinning.

"What, you don't believe me?" She asked, mockingly, she had no idea where this sudden playfulness had come from, but she was amused by it.

"Not at all, nope." His grin brightened a little more as he moved closer to her.

"How can you not trust me? After all this time?" She didn't step back, it was a challenge now.

"Oh, I trust you with my life," he told her without hesitation. "But I like to find things out for myself." He was now standing right in front of her.

Chloe held her breath and looked up at him, raising her eyebrows, "like a six year old," she teased.

Oliver chuckled, reaching out and tickling her side just a little experimentally.

She squirmed and stepped away from him immediately, not only was she ticklish, she was _incredibly_ ticklish.

He laughed, his eyes dancing with amusement. "I knew it."

As hard as she tried to glare at him, she still grinned, "proves nothing."

"It proves that I was right." He grinned back at her brightly.

"Like I said, it proves nothing," she grinned more, raising her eyebrows, "anyway, it's my turn."

"Be my guest," he said with a chuckle.

Narrowing her eyes, she placed both hands on his side, looking up at him but not moving them, "sure?"

"I'm sure," he informed her, holding her gaze.

Holding his gaze she pulled her hand away, then started tickling him.

He grinned, raising an eyebrow at her. "I think this means I win twice."

Sighing, she dropped her hands and made a face at him, "you're no fun."

His eyes widened a little at the accusation. "I'm a _ton_ of fun. I don't know what you're talking about."

"I don't know what _you_ are talking about, clearly, you're not."

"Then I guess I'm going to have to prove it to you, aren't I?" He grinned.

"Yes, you are," she grinned back at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Deal. Ever been on a motorcycle, Chloe?" he asked as he headed for the door with a smirk.

"Of course I have," when she was about five, "you think that's going to impress me?" Even as she asked, she followed him.

"Wouldn't dare think something so simple would impress someone like you, Sidekick," he responded with a grin.

"What's your plan then, Boss?"

"To not show you my cards before I'm ready to play my hand," he answered.

"Like I said, you're no fun." She told him with a smirk.

"I like to keep people guessing. That includes you." He smirked back.

Cocking her head, she raised her eyebrows, "assuming I'm guessing."

"Oh you are. I know you are. I know how your mind works," he said with certainty.

"Do you? I mean, what makes you think I can't keep you guessing just as much?"

He laughed. "I have no doubt you can, Chloe. I was merely referring to how extremely curious you are by nature."

Pausing, she smiled at him and shrugged softly, "that's something I can't argue with."

Oliver grinned back at her. "Give me ten minutes and I'll be ready."

"I'll be waiting," she told him, grinning. She had no idea what he was planning, but she was looking forward to it.

* * *

Twenty minutes later they were on his bike and racing across town as he wove their way through traffic with skilled ease. When they were past the city traffic and on the highway, he slowed down a bit. "You a good swimmer?" he asked loudly.

Pursing her lips, she raised her eyebrows, eyes widening for a second then blinking and closing her eyes because of the wind, "you do realize I'm not wearing a bikini under my clothes, right?"

He chuckled, leaning forward a little more. "Who said you needed one?"

Squinting, she tightened her hold on him, looking at the road, "is this just some master plan to see me naked?"

"What if it is?" he called back, a big grin on his face.

Blinking, she raised her eyebrows, trying to look at his face but only managing to get her helmet to fall further over her eyes, "there are other ways to go about it..."

That startled him, his hands curling a little more tightly around the handles on his bike. "Now you're just teasing me, Sidekick." 

She was glad he couldn't see her face, because she was blushing, she didn't know what possessed her to say that, "goes both ways."

He smiled. "Hey, if you wanna see me naked all you have to do is ask," he called.

"Yeah, I knew you were easy," she teased, wondering how much of this conversation was serious.

Oliver chuckled, shaking his head a little with amusement and forcing himself to focus on the road in front of them. They'd always bantered and it had always been light-hearted and relaxed. And maybe there was more than a little bit of flirting mixed in with it.

Or, if he would admit it to himself, more than just a little bit of flirting.

"Where are you taking me anyway? You should have told me to dress appropriately."

"You're dressed fine," he promised.

Chloe shifted slightly, careful not to mess up his balance and moved closer to him, wrapping her arms a little tighter around him.

"You okay?" he asked, glancing at her in the rearview mirror.

"Yeah, just trying to see where we're going," she met his gaze for a second and grinned.

He grinned back at her, not about to protest how much closer she was to him. "We're almost there, Ms. Curious."

"You're enjoying to torture me."

"Riding on my motorcycle with me is torture?"

Chloe rolled her eyes and grinned, "not exactly the bad kind."

He grinned again, too. "As long as it's not the bad kind." Within a few more moments, he spotted the place he was taking her and his smile widened even more. He pulled off the main highway, detouring onto a side road and slowing the bike to a stop.

Her eyes widened as she saw the ocean, she knew they were going up, but she hadn't realized how high until she looked down the cliff and towards the water.

Oliver parked the motorcycle and pulled the helmet off, sliding off the bike and holding a hand out toward her.

She took his hand and got out of the bike too, then took her helmet off, looking around then raising her eyebrows at him, "you better not suggest we jump."

"What? I thought you wanted to do something fun," he said with wide eyes. "What could be more fun than jumping off a cliff?"

Chloe shoved the helmet on his hands then walked over to the edge, looking down, eyes wide. It was high. Really high.

He chuckled softly, setting the helmet down with his and moving to her side. "You _do_ know I was kidding, right?"

"Oh," she blinked, then turned to face him, "of course."

"I wouldn't ever intentionally put you in any kind of danger." He gazed at her.

"Cliff diving isn't that bad," she said with a shrug, relieved that that wasn't the plan.

He arched an eyebrow. "You did see the rocks down below, right?"

"Pfft, details," she joked, smiling brightly, "so what are we doing?"

Oliver chuckled. "I thought we could watch the sunset," he told her, nodding toward the sun that was already lower than it had been twenty minutes ago. "It's a pretty amazing view from here."

"Oh," she nodded, smiling and shrugging, "okay, well, I don't need to know how to swim for that."

"Yeah, that part I was kidding about," he told her with a smile, raking a hand through his hair. He moved closer to the edge of the cliff and sat down, dangling his legs below him and glancing up at her.

That answered the question about how much of it was serious, she looked down at him then walked over to the edge too, carefully sitting down next to him.

"Not a view like this in Kansas, is there?" he asked softly, glancing at her sideways.

"I don't know, the sunsets from the Kent barn were pretty epic," she teased, smiling at him then shaking her head.

"The Kent barn overlooks the ocean?" he joked, nudging her arm lightly with his elbow.

"No nudging up here," she told him, wrapping her arm around his instead and looking down, "this is pretty nice."

He smiled at her, and looked across the horizon. "Yeah, it is," he agreed quietly.

Chloe smiled then turned to look at the ocean, quiet for a long moment, "do you come here often?"

"Used to. Not so much anymore. Wouldn't mind starting again though."

"Until the other day, when we went to the cafe, I don't think I had seen a sunset since my freshman year of high school."

"Really?" That caught him off guard.

"I think?" She shrugged, "things got hectic in Smallville and I've never done that in Metropolis. What about you?"

"Not that long," he said softly, glancing at her sideways. "Sometimes you have to stop and appreciate the beauty."

"You California people seem to be more into that than us," she glanced back at him, smiling softly.

"Maybe you need to become a Californian then." He smiled back just as softly.

Grinning softly, she shook her head, "born and raised in Kansas, you really can't change that."

"Sure you can. Home's the place you hang your hat." He grinned.

"Even if I lived in California, I'm still from Kansas, bet people here would be calling me Dorothy," she joked.

His grin brightened a little. "That's not a bad nickname." 

"Oh yeah? Well you're a local, should I call you Scarecrow? Tin Man? Or do you prefer Cowardly Lion?" She smirked.

Oliver rolled his eyes. "That's very cute."

"Brainless, heartless or fearful?" She grinned, "well, two of them definitely don't apply."

"Which one is it you think might?" he asked uncertainly.

"Well, you like helping people, so you're not heartless," she pointed out, pursing her lips together, "and you jump off of buildings, so definitely not fearful," she said quietly, "which lives us with brainless, which, considering the fact that you jump off of buildings, are a billionaire playboy and have ridiculous good looks, people just might label you that."

A short, involuntarily chuckle escaped him. "Huh. Ridiculous good looks?"

" _That's_ what you focus on?" She grinned, rolling her eyes, "I stand by my analysis."

Oliver grinned back. "Well, I have to admit, I wasn't exactly expecting to hear that from you."

Pausing, she cocked her head, "which part and why not?"

"The looks part," he told her with a shrug. "I just assumed you were pretty much immune to my charms."

"I'm not blind," she told him, raising one eyebrow, if only he knew just how clear the image of a shirtless Oliver was in her head at that moment.

"Neither am I." He gazed at her.

Her cheeks flushed and she rolled her eyes, "right, I get it, no need to prove your point."

Oliver's eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"Using your charm on perfectly innocent girls," she glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes.

"That was me being honest, not charming. For the record." He glanced at her sideways, as well.

Shaking her head, she smiled softly at him and raised her eyebrows a little, "thank you."

"You're welcome," he told her, looking out over the ocean again.

With a soft smile, she turned to look out at the ocean too, she wasn't really good with silences, but with Oliver, it was comfortable, so she just didn't say anything for a long time, watching as the sun set over the water.


	8. Chapter 8

The weekend had come by fast and it was now Saturday and they were supposed to be leaving to see Phantom of the Opera in about five minutes and she had just finished getting ready.

She was wearing a deep green dress, and she actually thought she looked pretty decent, of course, the fact that the dress was made by the most expensive store in Star City and was perfect in every way helped. Just this past Thursday, Oliver had given her an address and told her to go pick out a dress, she was suspicious and still fully intended on paying for the dress herself, but when she got to the store, they were expecting her, they had already picked out about ten dresses that she could possibly be interested in and when she went to check out, they told her it was already taken care of.

If she was honest, she was a little relieved because she wasn't sure she would have been able to afford the dress even if she split it on both of her cards, but she still felt bad Oliver felt like he had to buy her stuff. Sure, he could afford it, but she didn't want him to find a way to 'pay her back' for taking care of him all that time. She was determined to make him understand she took care of him because she wanted to, because she cared about him.

With one last look in the mirror, she took a deep breath and walked outside of the guest room, looking around for him, her heels clicking on the floor as she made her way to the living room.

Oliver was already in the living room, adjusting the cuff links on his tuxedo jacket when he heard the sound of her heels on the floor and turned to look at her. His eyes widened a little. The dress looked like it had been made just for her. It hugged her curves in all the right places, but was modest enough that she looked elegant and classy. He couldn't take his eyes off her, and he felt a knot form in his throat. "Wow," he whispered.

She held her breath a little, looking down then at him, smiling shyly, "if it's not an appropriate dress for tonight, you can complain about it to your friend Amy," the incredibly nice girl who had helped Chloe at the store, "she assured me it would be," she told him, watching him closely for his reaction and ignoring the fact that her heart was beating fast against her chest.

"No, it's...it's perfect," he assured her, taking a couple steps toward her. "You look incredible." His voice was sincere as he gazed at her.

Pursing her lips together, she watched him for a moment then smiled nervously, she could tell he was being sincere. She looked him up and down for a moment and smiled more, "you look pretty amazing too."

Oliver smiled faintly and held his arm out to her. "We should be going. The plane's waiting for us," he said casually.

Chloe stilled and blinked, raising her eyebrows and cocking her head, " _plane_?"

He stifled the urge to grin at her surprise. "I didn't tell you? It's in Gotham."

"Pretty sure I would have remembered that part if you had," her eyes widened and she looked down at her dress, "I should change, I'm gonna mess the dress up somehow on the way."

He shook his head. "It's not that long of a flight. It'll be fine," he assured her. 

She sighed and gave him a look, "you could have told me, you know?"

His face fell a little. "I wanted it to be a surprise," he admitted.

Chloe felt bad when she saw the look on his face, going all the way to Gotham just to see a Broadway show was not something she had thought was even a possibility and now she was even more nervous and she wasn't even sure why, but clearly, he hadn't meant to upset her, so she was going to have to take a deep breath and force herself to relax, "I guess I should be grateful we're still staying in the country?"

He smiled a bit at that. "Really, Chloe. We'll be there before you know it." He wasn't sure what her sudden anxiety meant and he wondered if she had a fear of flying.

She nodded and smiled a little at him, "well, in this case," she didn't finish her sentence and disappeared down the hall, coming back a second later with her make-up bag, "I'll need this."

Oliver smiled at her and shook his head a little, offering her his arm once more.

"Don't shake your head at me," she told him, taking his arm, "I won't look like this anymore by the time we get off the plane."

"You always look beautiful, Chloe. It's not something you have to try at," he told her as he walked with her to the elevator.

She couldn't help but smile, even as she rolled her eyes, "so what else did you _forget_ to mention?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said with a grin.

Chloe shook her head a little then paused, cocking her head to look at him, "did you think I would have said no to going if I knew it was in Gotham?"

"No," he said, shaking his head, as well, and pressing the down button on the elevator before turning to look at her. "I really just wanted to surprise you."

"Oh," her heart was definitely beating faster now, "why?" She asked before she could stop herself.

Oliver paused for a moment, and then smiled softly. "Because you've been a really good friend," he said quietly.

Raising her eyebrows, she looked at him for a second then smiled softly and looked away. 

He relaxed at her apparent acceptance at his words. He could hardly wait for the rest of the evening. He had a couple of more surprises in store for her.

* * *

They got to Gotham just in time, five minutes later and they would have been late for the beginning of the show. Just as they sat down on their orchestra seats, the lights went off. Her dress and hair had made it just fine, surprisingly since it was pouring rain when they got to Gotham and although she did touch up her make up a little she still looked pretty acceptable in her opinion.

The performance had been amazing, definitely much better than the few traveling shows she had seen in Metropolis before.

Once it was over, Oliver led Chloe outside of the theater and into the lobby, but not until most of the crowd was out already, she looked around the theater, which was gorgeous, then over at him, "this is really nice."

"So you had a good time?" He smiled softly.

"It was totally worth the flight," she told him, smiling up at him, and squeezing his arm lightly.

Oliver smiled back at her. "Then I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the rest of the evening."

At that, she raised her eyebrows and looked up at him, her eyes wide, "what is the rest of the evening?"

He glanced across the room. "Well." His voice was quiet and he looked back at her once more. "Remember that possible merger I was telling you about with Wayne Enterprises?"

"Yeah?" She asked curiously, cocking her head to look at him.

"How would you like to have an exclusive interview with both of us?" He met her eyes.

Chloe stilled, raising her eyebrows as her eyes widened and she even pulled her arm from his slightly to look better at him, her mouth dropping open slightly, "what?" 

Oliver gazed down at her. "I know how much journalism means to you, Chloe. And maybe you can't be at the Daily Planet anymore, but that doesn't mean there aren't other really great newspapers out there that would be glad to snatch you up. I figured maybe an interview with the CEO's of two major companies might make for a good article."

All she could do was blink, she watched him for a long time and then her brain snapped and she finally understood what he was offering her, of course a tiny part of her wanted to yell at him for not telling her about this sooner, but mostly, she was getting into reporter mode, she had read everything about the merger, of course, and Oliver had told her about it too, although not in detail, but she was sure she knew enough about it to get questions together on their way to wherever it was, "I'll need a voice recorder and I'll need a notepad and I can't even let you help me with questions because you're supposed to be answering them too."

A smile tugged at his lips. "Both of those are in the limo, ready to go," he told her with a nod. He studied her for a moment, trying to read her expression and wondering what she was going through her mind. "We're heading over to the Wayne Mansion from here."

She stared up at him, "we are?"

Oliver grinned a little, bemused. "Take a deep breath, Chloe. Bruce isn't as bad as the newspapers make him sound and he's not nearly as attractive as I am. Nothing to worry about." There was more than a hint of teasing in his voice.

Without thinking about it, she did actually take a deep breath then shook her head at him, smiling, "you do realize that if you hadn't just offered me what is probably the best journalistic opportunity I'll ever have in my life, I would be yelling at you, right?"

He arched an eyebrow at her. "I'm kind of surprised you're not anyway," he teased.

"I should be, you should have given me time to prepare, your driver better drive slowly," she warned, only half joking.

"Well, _I'm_ not driving, Bruce assured me he'll accept follow up questions via email or phone if they come up, and I wanted you to enjoy the show instead of worrying about the interview all night." He smiled.

"Noble," she told him, linking her arm with his again, "and the show was amazing, but do you even realize how big this is?"

Oliver walked with her toward the exit. "Pretty big," he said quietly.

"Huge," she told him, taking a deep breath and stepping closer to him, her brain working miles per hour as she tried to think of everything.

"You'll do fine, Chloe," he assured her, sounding completely confident. 

Pursing her lips together, she looked at him for a moment then took a deep breath, "I just need questions," she moved even closer to him as they walked closer to the door, it was raining a lot more now.

Without thinking about it, he wound his arm around her waist. "There's an umbrella in the limo. I'll go get it. Stay here." He glanced down at her as they headed into the lobby.

She nodded slightly, looking up at him then outside, "okay, but just because I don't want to ruin the dress."

He smiled, meeting her eyes for a moment and headed outside, blinking rapidly as he realized he'd actually considered kissing her before he walked out into the rain. He grabbed the umbrella from the back of the limo, popped it open and headed to the lobby once more, opening the door from her.

Chloe had picked up the dress as well as she could, so it wouldn't touch the wet ground then smiled at him, a little more confident that she could do this as she stepped outside and wrapped her arm around him, moving to stand under the umbrella.

Oliver guided her to the car, opening the door for her. "The mansion's on the other side of the city, so we've got some time," he told her as he slid into the car beside her, tapping lightly on the glass between them and the driver and held out a small notepad, pen and a voice recorder.

She took it from him eagerly and after dropping her purse on the seat, she took a deep breath, "thanks," she murmured, even as she started jolting down questions on the paper quickly, her hands not moving fast enough for everything she had in mind, and she didn't want to miss any of it.

He watched her for a long moment, a soft smile on his face as he leaned back in his seat.

Her hands were hurting and she was on her fifth page of notes when she finally stopped and took a deep breath, leaning back against the seat and nodded at him, eyes a little wide, "I'm done. I think."

He reached out and took one of her hands in his, gently massaging it between his own wordlessly, then doing the same to the other, not looking at her.

Chloe raised her eyebrows then sighed deeply, she really needed that, "thank you."

Oliver smiled softly, nodding a little. "You're welcome." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

She rolled her shoulders and looked up at him, feeling a lot better now that she had a pretty good amount of questions and she had refreshed her memory on the subject as she wrote them, "I do have a question off the record before we get there, though."

He cocked his head to the side. "Ask away," he said curiously.

"Why did you decide to do this?" She cocked her head so she could look better at him.

Oliver was a little confused by the question. "You mean why am I helping my friend?"

"Well, no," she paused a little, because she was surprised by his answer, but that didn't really answer, "and I'm incredibly grateful to you for singlehandedly jump-starting my career out of the blue like this but... what made you think of it?"

He gazed at her. "Everything you've been doing for me," he admitted quietly.

Chloe paused for a moment and her face fell, sighing softly, she closed her eyes for a second then shook her head, "Ollie, I told you, the only reason I helped you and took care of you is because I wanted to. Because I care what happens to you, you didn't have to do anything for me."

His eyebrows furrowed. "No, that's...that's not what I meant, Chloe." He gazed at her, reaching out and taking her hand once more.

She looked down at their hands for a second then looked up at him but didn't say anything, just waited.

"It's not repayment," he said quietly, meeting her eyes. "That's not what I meant." He squeezed her hand lightly. "I'm just trying to be as good of a friend to you as you have been to me. That's all."

Chloe relaxed slightly and squeezed his hand back, "you are, Ollie, and as much as I appreciate this, you don't have to do that for me to know you're a good friend."

"I wanted to," he said honestly. "Besides, you're far too talented of a journalist to just let that go to waste, Chloe."

She grinned softly at that and looked down then over at him, "thank you, I mean it, this... means a lot to me."

He couldn't help but grin back at her. "You're welcome. And it's my pleasure."

After giving his hand one more squeeze, she let go of it, then turned to look out the window when the car stopped, "are we here?"

"We're here," he said with a nod, looking out the window at the mansion. He picked up the umbrella once more, climbing out of the car and opening it, then held his other hand out to help her from the limo.

She stuffed the pen and the voice recorder in her small purse then picked it up along with the notebook that was too big to fit inside, then picked her dress up from the floor with the same hand and took his, using it at support as she climbed out of the limo, her eyes widening a little as she saw the Wayne Mansion. It was about three times the size of the Luthor Mansion in Smallville.

Oliver noticed her expression and smiled a little. "My mansion's bigger," he joked.

Chloe raised an eyebrow and looked over at him, smirking, clearly amused, "I think I just had a vision of what the rest of the evening will be like."

He grinned innocently. "I have no idea what you're insinuating."

"Hey, I won't complain if this interview turns out to be a dick measuring contest, I'm sure it will be a hit." She teased, taking his arm and stepping closer to him.

A startled chuckle escaped him, his eyes widening a little. "Chloe Sullivan." He shook his head, grinning as he led her up the sidewalk toward the mansion.

She grinned brightly at him and shrugged, "figure of speech, relax, Mr. Queen."

"Uh huh. I know what it was," he teased, pulling her closer and ringing the doorbell a moment later.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she told him, letting go of her dress once they were by the door and smoothing it down.

He smirked. "Whatever you say." 

A second later the door opened and Alfred Pennyworth smiled at them. "Mr. Queen." He nodded at Ollie and then shifted his gaze to Chloe. "You must be Miss Sullivan."

She smiled at the older man and nodded a little, glancing at Ollie then stepping inside when he made room for them, "thank you," she told him.

"Master Wayne got caught up with work," Alfred told them, taking the wet umbrella from Oliver, "I will show you to the study." 

Without thinking about it, Oliver reached down and took Chloe's hand, following Alfred down the hallway.

Chloe looked around, not really noticing she was holding his hand, the mansion had been completely destroyed in a fire a few years back, a fire that according to the papers had been set by Bruce Wayne himself, but it looked like it had been completely restored already. The things money could do...

He glanced at her sideways, then smiled faintly as he led her into the study. "Hey, Old Man." He smirked at Bruce. 

Bruce raised an eyebrow at him. "You're not that much younger than I am, Queen." 

She raised an eyebrow when they walked into the room and she could barely believe she was about to interview both Oliver Queen and Bruce Wayne. She couldn't remember the last time anyone had printed an interview with _either_ of them.

Oliver grinned. "This is the friend I was telling you about. Chloe Sullivan."

Bruce looked over her dress and smiled at her. "Well, it's _very_ nice to meet you, Miss Sullivan." He moved over and held his hand out to her.

Chloe let go of Oliver's hand and took Bruce's, smiling at him, "it's really nice to meet you too, Mr. Wayne, thank you so much for agreeing to this."

"Anything for a friend of a friend. Especially such a lovely one at that." He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it.

Oliver narrowed his eyes at Bruce.

Considering how much Chloe was around Oliver, she should have been immune to the whole charming playboy attitude by now. If the heat she was feeling in her cheeks was anything to go by, she was not. She couldn't help but smile at Bruce but as she glanced at Oliver, she paused and raised her eyebrows a little. The look on his face was less than friendly and the last thing she wanted was for them to start arguing before she had a chance to get her story.

As soon as Bruce pulled back, she pulled her hand away from his and shifted on her shoes, "should we get the interview out of the way? I'm sure you two have a lot you want to catch up on."

Bruce caught the look on Oliver's face, too, and a knowing smile touched his lips before he looked back at Chloe. "Absolutely. Would either of you like something to drink?"

"I'm good," Oliver answered, glancing at Chloe, tension still obvious in his shoulders.

Chloe met Oliver's gaze for a second then looked at Bruce, "I would love some coffee if you don't mind," she told him, mostly because she was getting tired and she wanted to be fully awake for this, but also because it a lot colder outside than it had been when they left California. She didn't even care if it was almost midnight as the grandfather clock behind Bruce's desk told her, she probably wouldn't be able to sleep anyway.

"Certainly. And how does the lovely lady take her coffee?" Now that he knew it was getting under Oliver's skin, Bruce couldn't help himself.

"Cream and sugar, please," she said to Bruce, smiling at him. 

"I'll be right back." Bruce winked at her and headed for the door, a grin on his face.

Chloe took a deep breath as Bruce left then turned to Ollie, opened her mouth but closed it when she saw his eyes were narrowed and his jaw was tight, "what's wrong?" She asked quietly, stepping closer to him.

Oliver glanced at her and shook his head a little. "Nothing," he told her. 

"Right," she frowned, cocking her head and watching him.

"We can talk about it later," he said quietly. "It's nothing to worry about." Assuming Bruce didn't try to up the ante and use Chloe to do so.

"Okay," she told him, reaching out and giving his hand a light squeeze before pulling back and opening her notebook to go over the questions she had written.

He gazed at her for a moment. "Chloe?"

She looked up from her notes and raised her eyebrows, "yeah?"

He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again, a faint smile touching his lips. He shook his head. "Nothing, sorry to interrupt."

"It's okay," she told him, smiling a little, "what is it?"

He met her eyes. "Thanks for coming with me." 

Her face softened and she smiled at him, "thank you for inviting me."

"You're welcome." He smiled back softly.

At that moment Bruce returned, carrying a steaming mug of coffee. He held it out to Chloe and smiled. "Shall we get started?"

Chloe turned to Bruce, straightening her back and taking the mug from him, "thank you," she said then nodded "I'm ready."

* * *

It was long after three in the morning by the time the interview was completely finished and Oliver was trying his best to ignore his fatigue. Even though he was usually used to being up so late, since his injury a few weeks before, and mostly thanks to Chloe, he'd actually been getting more sleep.

"Well, it's quite late. And the weather outside is atrocious." Bruce looked between them. "I'm afraid I'll have to insist you stay here until morning, for safety's sake."

Chloe was incredibly pleased with herself and with how the interview had turned out, she was exhausted, even with the coffee, but she was also excited and couldn't wait to transcribe the whole thing. At Bruce's suggestion, though, she sat up a little and glanced outside, then back at him, "oh, I don't..." she looked at Oliver,, "we wouldn't want to bother..."

" _You_ are no bother at all," Bruce assured her with a smile, then nodded toward Oliver. "And he's an _old_ friend, so I can overlook the bother."

Oliver's jaw tightened ever-so-slightly. "Hate to put you out, Bruce."

Pursing her lips together, she looked between the two men, Ollie obviously didn't want to stay, "I'm sure we can find a hotel..." of course she had never even been to Gotham before and she was incredibly distracted by her notes on the way to the Mansion, she really had no idea how long it would take for them to get back, or how safe the drive was.

"I'm sure you could, but I assure you, it wouldn't be one you wanted to stay in. My room is much better and far more comfortable." He smiled at her coyly, glancing at Oliver from the corner of his eye.

"I think that's about enough," Oliver interjected. 

Chloe's eyes widened at his wording but she smiled at him, "trust me, Mr. Wayne, as grateful as I am for the interview, I have absolutely no interest in staying in your room."

"That's a shame." Bruce smiled back at her and then glanced at Oliver. "Relax. If the lady's not offended, why should you be? Unless there's something between the two of you, of course."

He drew in a breath and resisted the urge to punch his old friend right in the jaw. "You never quite got over your juvenile stage, did you?"

Chloe took a deep breath and shook her head a little, "it's late," past three in the morning, "we should go."

Bruce looked at Oliver for a moment, then glanced at Chloe, growing a little more serious. "Gotham at this time isn't a pretty place to be. It really would be safer to stay here."

Oliver glanced at Chloe, not really wanting to take a chance because he'd heard stories about just how dangerous Gotham really was. Bruce wasn't kidding. And while he may have very well just gone for the night if he was by himself, he didn't want to risk her possibly getting hurt. "It is late. And I'm sure there are plenty of guest rooms."

She looked between the two of them once more and nodded slightly, holding Ollie's gaze for a second then looking back at Bruce, "thank you." She really hadn't been offended by what she assumed was a joke, he was Bruce Wayne, after all and from the interview, he seemed like a nicer guy than the papers made him out to be.

Bruce rose to his feet. "Let me show you to your room." Before either of them had a chance to respond, he was heading out of the study.

After picking up her voice recorder, purse and notebook, she stood and looked at Oliver before walking out of the room with him.

He offered her a small smile, following Bruce down the hall and watching as he opened a door. "Here you are," he told them. "If you need anything, there's an intercom system. Just page me or Alfred."

Oliver nodded a little. "Thanks," he said, doing his best to ignore the knowing look Bruce gave him.

Chloe watched as Bruce walked away then raised an eyebrow at Ollie before stepping forward and into the room, where she had fully expected to find two beds, but instead there was one. A gigantic bed that surely could fit two people comfortably, but still. Just one.

He paused, staring at the bed for a moment and then rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced at her sideways. "I'll take the floor," he assured her, closing the door behind them.

"Don't be silly, Oliver," she said with a roll of her eyes, forcing herself to look more comfortable than she felt, "that bed is huge, we can share, I probably won't even be able to see you on the other side."

Oliver met her eyes. "Are you sure? I don't want you to be uncomfortable, Chloe."

"I'm sure," she held his gaze then smiled a little before looking down at herself, "figuring out sleeping attire, however, might be an issue."

He grimaced. He hadn't thought about _that_. "Maybe there are some extra clothes in the closet," he suggested, heading over to it. He opened the doors, and sure enough, there were plenty of clothes inside. "Bingo." He smiled.

Chloe raised an eyebrow and smiled, following him and looking inside the closet, "think these are just clothes of people he sleeps with who forgot them here?"

"I don't think I want to think about it or I'll end up sleeping in my tux." He smirked.

Making a face, she nodded, brushing past him and reaching out to grab a t-shirt, "good point."

"I'm sure they're clean." At least that's what he was choosing to tell himself as he grabbed a shirt, as well. He glanced around and then nodded toward another door. "I'm guessing that's the guest bathroom. You can change first if you want."

"Thank you," she told him, looking around for a second and making a face at what she thought were shorts but were really boxers. All the clothes smelled clean and they had been neatly folded and Bruce's butler just didn't seem the type who would allow dirty clothes to lay around the house. With one look at Oliver, she shrugged and turned to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

He watched her go, then drew in a breath and let it out slowly, sitting down on the edge of the bed and loosening his tie. It had been a good night, for the most part. Although Bruce was just as annoying now as he'd been when they were younger. Actually he was more annoying now. But he was relieved that Chloe had told the other man she wasn't interested in sharing his room. She deserved a lot more than to be another notch on Bruce Wayne's bedpost. Or anyone else's for that matter.

Just a couple seconds later, Chloe opened the bathroom door, pursing her lips together as she peeked outside, "hm, Ollie, could you help me?" She asked, feeling incredibly awkward.

He glanced up, frowning a little and then rose to his feet. "Sure. What's wrong?"

She stepped outside of the bathroom, now barefoot and careful not to step on her dress, which she was holding up around her chest, "I think the zipper got stuck on my bra, I can't get it to open." 

Oliver swallowed hard, his stomach tightening in a knot as he slowly moved over to where she stood. "Sure. Turn around," he said softly.

"Thanks," she told him with a soft, embarrassed smile before turning her back to him and holding her breath.

"No problem," he murmured, gently sweeping her hair off her neck and studying the zipper for a moment. Then he gently untangled it from a hint of lace from her bra and eased it down her back the rest of the way, his fingers skimming against her bare skin lightly. "There you go," he whispered.

Chloe shivered slightly when his fingers brushed against her skin, her eyes widening and her face immediately turning red when her brain caught up with her body and the way she had just reacted to Oliver, "thank you," she told him again, glancing at him before making her way back into the bathroom and closing the door behind herself as quickly as she could.

He held his breath as she fled and rubbed a hand over his face. What the hell was going on with him tonight? he wondered, raking a hand through his hair nervously.

It took her about ten minutes, but she finally made it out of the bathroom, her hair now down, all the makeup had been washed from her face and she was wearing the oversized t-shirt and boxers she had found in the closet, "your turn," she told him with a tiny smile as she picked up one of the hangers from the closet and hung her dress.

Oliver smiled back and ducked his head as he moved into the bathroom, holding onto the t-shirt in his hands. He changed clothes quickly, exhaling before he stepped back into the bedroom once more.

She was looking out the window when she heard him and turned around to face him, "I didn't know if you had a side preference," she joked, smiling softly. She really had been going over the interview and which papers she was going to try and sell it for. She wanted something in the New York/New Jersey area, and the NY Times or the Gotham times were the obvious choices for it, and for Star City, their only big paper was the Star City Gazette.

"I'm good either way," he told her softly. "Whichever one you're more comfortable with." He gazed at her for a long moment. "What are you thinking about?" 

"Just the interview," she told him, smiling a little more excitedly than she should be at nearly four in the morning, "I think regardless of how much Lex tries to blacklist me, this just might get me a job at another actual, quality newspaper."

"Any thoughts on what newspaper you'd like for that to be?" he asked, meeting her eyes.

"One that will take me?" She smiled, shrugging a little, "I don't know, that's something I will have to take time to consider because it probably means I'll have to move from Metropolis," where she hadn't been in a long time now, but this didn't count.

Oliver studied her for a moment. "You know, I know the editor of the Star City Gazette." He paused. "That is if you like my city enough to even be interested in sticking around." There. It was out in the open now.

Chloe raised her eyebrows a little and considered his words, then smiled softly, "I don't know, are you sure Star City is big enough for the two of us?"

He grinned. "It's been working just fine so far," he pointed out, nudging her lightly with his elbow.

She grinned softly and shook her head, looking down then looking at him after a moment, "let me think about it."

"Yeah, of course," he said with a nod. He yawned involuntarily. "We should probably get some sleep. What do you think?"

Chloe nodded, not being able to stop herself from yawning too then raising her eyebrows, "I think that's a yes."

He grinned as she yawned. "Night, Sidekick," he said, crawling into one side of the bed.

She got in on the other side and reached to turn off the lamp, "night, boss."

Oliver shifted and reached to tug the covers up and around them. He tucked one hand under his pillow, turning onto his side so he was facing her and closed his eyes.

Chloe turned to face him too and was surprised to see him facing her, she could tell his eyes were closed and smiled a little, she had a sudden urge to reach out and touch his face but stopped herself, holding her hands together instead and taking a deep breath before closing her eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

Oliver awoke slowly the next morning, feeling comfortable and warm long before he ever opened his eyes. The sweet, tangy smell of apples made him inhale deeply and it took him a long moment to realize it wasn't actual apples he was smelling, but the scent of Chloe's shampoo. And he was warm and comfortable because at some point during sleep, he'd apparently nestled up right behind her, his arm draped around her waist. His face was buried in her hair, and one of her feet was nestled between his. It was far too intimate of a position considering their very platonic relationship, but it was also somehow fitting, considering the way she'd shown up in Star City and insinuated herself into his life. And he was again surprised to realize he wasn't _uncomfortable_ with the current position.

Chloe stirred slightly in her sleep, she was also incredibly comfortable, there was something heavy over her side and stomach, her foot was warm and she felt like someone was holding her. It was nice. She sighed deeply and moved back, pressing against the warm mass that was behind her, relaxing a little more.

A soft smile touched his lips. Apparently she was comfortable--at least she was while she was asleep. He wondered how she'd feel if she woke up and found herself in his arms like she was. Frowning a little, he wondered if he should try and carefully disentangle, but he couldn't quite bring himself to do it. He was comfortable and he'd actually slept really well for the first time in he didn't know how long.

She adjusted again and took his hand that was resting against her stomach in hers, slowly waking up and stilling when her brain started to realize where she was and who she was cuddling with.

He was half-asleep again when she moved and then he woke up fully when he felt her freeze. "Morning," he murmured.

Chloe felt herself blushing immediately, and she looked down at their hands, he was awake and he was probably fully aware of their position, but still, he wasn't pulling away. That was a good thing, right? Taking a deep breath, she turned and looked at him over her shoulder, "morning."

He offered her a sheepish grin, hoping she wouldn't freak out. "Sleep okay?" 

"Yeah," she said quietly, not sure why he was still pressed up against her, or why he looked so incredibly comfortable, and she couldn't even move away since he was right behind her and she was laying on the edge of the bed, not that she _really_ wanted to, "you?"

"Good," he admitted, holding her gaze for a moment. "I apparently...like to cuddle in my sleep." He tried to keep his voice light, not wanting to apologize because he wasn't sorry really.

"Apparently," she couldn't help but grin as she looked away then shrugged, "and apparently I.. don't mind it at all." And she was pretty sure there were butterflies in her stomach and her cheeks were bright red.

"Oh, good. That's--that's good to hear." He couldn't stop himself from leaning down and kissing her cheek lightly. "Maybe we can even get Bruce to make us some breakfast before we head back to California."

"Maybe we can," she said quietly and had to stop herself from turning around to face him and kissing him. That would have been a bad idea, even if he seemed as comfortable with their sleeping arrangements as she had been.

Oliver was silent for a moment, then he rested his head on the pillow once more and closing his eyes, his arm still draped around her.

She raised her eyebrows a little and turned to look over her shoulder again, wondering why he still hadn't moved when she saw his eyes were closed, she let out a deep breath and ran her thumb over his hand gently. She was perfectly aware of the massive crush she had on Oliver, she had been since that day she saw him walking around in his room shirtless, when she still had to change his bandages, but she didn't think it would ever be more than completely platonic so she did her best not to pay attention to it. But now, she wasn't so sure anymore.

He felt her thumb brushing over the back of his hand and he smiled faintly, surprised but glad she wasn't pulling away from him. "This is nice," he murmured.

"Yeah..." she whispered quietly, agreeing before she could stop herself, then smiling a little and closing her eyes too.

"So uh, have you thought about what we discussed?" He knew the question was silly because when would she have had time to think about it? She'd been asleep. But he couldn't stop himself from asking anyway.

It was hardly fair of him to ask her that question at that exact moment. She hadn't had time to think about, obviously, but she had been pretty much living in Star City for almost two months now and if there was even the slightest chance of waking up like this again, how could she deny herself that? "I guess I could give your city a try..." She answered him quietly, chewing on the inside of her lip.

"My city is incredibly lucky if you do," he said just as quietly, resting his forehead against the back of her head. 

She just smiled, squeezing his hand in hers and turning her head slightly to rest on top of his.

Oliver smiled, squeezing her hand in return. He idly wondered how long they could get by with staying in bed before Bruce decided to kick them out.

After a long moment, Chloe opened her eyes and hesitated for a second before pressing a kiss to the top of his head, she didn't want to move, either, but she knew eventually, they would have to.

"I guess we should probably get up and head to the airport." He sighed softly.

"Probably," she told him quietly, "I have a lot of work to do."

He kissed the back of her head softly and reluctantly sat up in the large bed. The physical loss of her body against his was palpable. It had been so long since he'd held or been held by anyone that he'd forgotten how much he craved it. And the fact that it was Chloe just made that fact multiply by large quantities. He was afraid to stop and analyze what _that_ meant.

She sighed deeply and stretched slowly when he pulled away, really wishing they didn't have to move, but she was sure it was going to take her forever to transcribe that interview, and since she didn't have her laptop, it would have to wait until they got back to Star City.

Slowly, she stood up and looked over at him, "mind if I take the bathroom first?"

"No, go ahead," he assured her softly, offering her a smile.

She smiled back at him and picked up her dress that she had hung then disappearing into the bathroom, coming back a few minutes later, wearing the dress and the high heels, but not nearly as much make up as she had on last night, "feels kinda silly to be dressed like this in the morning."

If possible, she looked even more stunning this morning than she had the night before. "You still look stunning," he said quietly.

Cocking her head, she looked at him then grinned, looking down, "thanks."

Oliver smiled back at her, moving to grab his tux and heading toward the bathroom. He changed clothes quickly, but left the tie off this time. He held his arm out to her. "Shall we attempt to find the host?"

"Yeah," she grabbed her things then took his arm, smiling up at him, "assuming he's awake."

"We can always sneak out," he teased, winking at her and leading her out of the room.

* * *

As soon as they got back to Star City, Chloe took a quick shower, changed into normal clothes and sat in front of her laptop, headphones on as she started to transcribe her interview. She didn't stop until she was done, and then, she read the whole thing and edited it, then she read it one more time and finally after... she had no idea how long, she let out a deep breath and sunk against her chair, "done," she announced to no one in particular since she had no idea if Oliver was in the living room or could hear her or not.

He glanced up from where he was sitting at his own computer and blinked a few times. "Yeah?"

She blinked and turned around from where she was sitting at the dining room table and nodded, smiling brightly, "yeah, I think so, I'll need to go over it again when my brain is at a higher functioning level."

He grinned at that and rose to his feet. "You hungry? I could fix something," he offered.

Chloe cocked her head and smirked a little, "are you going to poison me?"

Oliver rolled his eyes at that. "I'll have you know, I'm actually a decent cook."

She squinted, raising her eyebrows slowly, "you are?"

He smirked at her. "Surprise."

"Well that I have to see to believe," she told him, grinning as she moved to stand up then stretching slowly, her body stiff from sitting for so long.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," he assured her with an amused grin. "Anything specific sound good?"

"What is your specialty?" She asked curiously, this was definitely an unexpected side of Oliver Queen.

"Italian," he admitted.

"I like Italian, anything specific?"

"Nope. You pick."

Chloe considered him for a moment then smiled, "how good are you at making lasagna?"

He grinned brightly. "Good choice. It'll require a trip to the store, but it'll be good."

"We can do that," she nodded, smiling at him, "because I certainly wanna see this."

"Oh, ye of little faith," he teased. "I'll show you, don't worry."

"Alright," she told him, grinning, "c'mon, I wanna see and i'm getting hungry."

"And lasagna takes awhile." He held his hand out to her, still smiling.

She raised her eyebrows a little and grabbed her purse then took his hand, smiling, "we'll have to get some appetizers, then."

"Garlic bread goes good with lasagna. What else?" he asked, cocking his head to the side as he led her to the elevator.

"Well, yeah but we have to have the garlic bread _with_ the lasagna," she pointed out, "I guess we can see what they have, maybe cheese and crackers..."

"Which of course, requires a bottle of wine, too," he added with a grin.

"Perfect combination," she agreed, smiling brightly, "I can drink and snack while you cook for me."

He chuckled. "I see how this works." He met her eyes, his own lit with actual _happiness_. 

"Sounds like the perfect plan to me," she smiled brightly at him, holding his gaze.

"You know...I'm really glad you're going to stay and give things a try here," he said, his voice growing quiet. 

Chloe raised her eyebrows slowly and her face softened then she nodded at him, "I think... I would be stupid not to."

"Well, it's a good paper. It's not quite as well known as the Planet, but..." He paused. "You're a great writer, Chloe. Any place would be lucky to have you."

"It's a respectable paper," she corrected him, "and that's more than I could get in any other city, I'm sure Lex wasted no time in blackballing me, besides..." she paused and smiled a little more, "the city isn't so bad..."

At that, he grinned once more. "I'm kind of partial to it," he admitted.

"Really?" She teased, "I had no idea."

Oliver chuckled. "It's good to know it's growing on you, too, though."

She squeezed his arm and nodded, "you will probably wanna duck and cover when I tell Lois and Clark about it..."

At that, he grimaced a little. "Yeah, you're probably right. Do you have any Kryptonite? I might need it."

"I do... in Kansas," she grinned, then rolled her eyes, "I'll try my best to keep him from you."

"Maybe I should just buy some handcuffs and handcuff you to me so he's less likely to attempt to murder me," he said with a smirk.

Chloe smirked slowly at that and raised her eyebrows, "kinky."

His eyes widened a little and he raised his eyebrows, as well. "It could be."

At that, she paused, raising a single eyebrow at this time, "unless Clark got involved."

Oliver made a face. "No thanks."

She couldn't help but laugh, at least it had gotten her away from dangerous subjects involving Oliver Queen and kinks. Like him in his Green Arrow costume, late at night, on a rooftop. She was definitely not going to think about that.

"That was mean, Sidekick." He gave her a pouty look.

Chloe hugged his arm and grinned brightly, "what was?"

He smirked down at her. "I'm so not touching that with a ten foot pole."

"Me neither," she assured him, making a face.

"Oh good." He nudged her lightly. "That's not exactly the impression of me I want you to have."

Chloe cocked her head at him and squinted slowly, "what... impression would that be, exactly?"

"That I'm into other guys," he responded with an amused smile.

Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened as she stared up at him, a mock shocked expression on her face, "you're not? You mean, you and Bruce..."

"Oh yes. We get along so well," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Sexual tension," she explained with a shrug.

Oliver snorted. "It's a good thing I'm secure in my sexuality."

Chloe laughed and smiled up at him, "well you've passed the test."

"Oh good." He grinned down at her, meeting her eyes.

She held his gaze and cocked her head a little, "good?"

"Isn't it?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"I think so," she said quietly, "didn't realize it mattered to you."

"Does it matter to you?" he asked just as quietly.

"I was testing you, clearly, it does," she said carefully, watching him.

Oliver paused at that. "It matters to me too."

She bit down on her bottom lip and smiled softly, her eyes still on his face, "I guess that's a good thing."

He smiled back. "Yeah?"

"Yeah..." Chloe had no idea where this was going, but she had to admit, she was curious.

His eyes were bright as the elevator doors slid open. He wrapped his arm around her waist and led her out of the elevator, and then out of the building. He had no idea where it was all going either, but something about it felt very right. 

* * *

By the time dinner was ready, they had finished a bottle of fine and started on another, by the time they finished eating, Ollie was pouring what was left in the bottle between their glasses. Chloe was feeling relaxed, partially thanks to the wine, but also because Oliver's company had that effect on her.

"This was impressive," she told him, leaning back against her chair and picking up her glass, nodding at the empty plate in front of her, "you weren't lying..."

"I try not to lie to my friends," he assured her with amusement, taking a sip of his wine as he watched her.

Smirking slowly, she cocked her head and sipped on her wine too, "good quality, I try not to too."

Oliver gazed at her, a small smile on his face. "Should have bought some tiramisu."

"Are you crazy?" She shook her head, "I can't eat anymore..."

"I have been called crazy a time or two," he joked.

She laughed quietly and raised her eyebrows, "I wonder why, is it the jumping off of buildings or the green tights?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "They're _not_ tights."

Pursing her lips together, she cocked her head, "what would you call your _tight_ leather pants?" She asked curiously, the image of him on the rooftop with the costume coming to her mind again.

Oliver arched an eyebrow at her wording. "Leather pants," he responded with a smirk.

"Leather tights," she grinned, taking another long sip of her wine.

He mock-glared at her. "It's a good thing I like you as much as I do."

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow in interest, "how much?"

"A lot." He grinned.

Chloe grinned brightly and nodded, "ditto." She told him shyly.

"You know, you have the most incredible smile." His voice was quiet.

She paused at that and couldn't help but grin a little more, "you're drunk."

"I'm really not," he said, leaning back in his chair.

"Clearly, you need more wine, then," she told him, smiling brightly and sipping on her wine again.

He chuckled. "Are you _trying_ to get me drunk?" he teased.

She bit down on her bottom lip for a second then smiled innocently, "what makes you think that?"

"Well, you are trying to get me to drink more." He grinned at her.

"Maybe I just want you to _relax_..." she grinned back, leaning forward.

"I think _you_ may be drunk," he told her, chuckling.

Chloe rolled her eyes and shook her head, "not drunk, I'm comfortable."

He smirked and finished off his glass of wine, setting it down on the table. "Good."

She finished hers too then smiled at him, "what should we do now?"

"Well, we could watch a movie." He met her gaze.

"We could, what do you suggest?" She leaned her elbows over the table and leaned forward slightly.

Oliver shrugged a little. "What kind of movies do you like?"

"Horror," she told him brightly, she used to watch a lot of awful b horror movies with Pete when she was younger, they were always cheaper to rent at the Grandville video rental store, "you?"

He chuckled faintly. "I can deal with that."

"Well, that doesn't answer my question," she pointed out.

"I don't know, actually. I don't watch a lot of movies." He shrugged.

Chloe's eyes widened a little and she cocked her head, staring at him, "what do you mean you don't watch movies?"

He blinked. "Is that...not normal?"

"Of course not..." she said with a frown, "I don't sit in front of the tv with the purpose of watching a movie, normally, but sometimes I'm working on my laptop and have a movie in the background."

"Oh. I usually...have on CNN." He grimaced a little, realizing how dull _that_ sounded.

Chloe grinned a little at that and nodded, "I do too, most of the time," she admitted, grinning more, "but sometimes I want something different."

He couldn't help but grin at the smile on her face. "All right, what are some of your favorites? I'll have to start a list so I can catch up."

"Hm," she pursed, "I like the Tarantino ones, they are not exactly horror, but you have to see Kill Bill."

"Ah, that I've actually seen." He grinned.

"I'm not surprised," she grinned back, "it is one of Lois' favorites too."

He didn't even blink at the mention of Lois. "Did you like the second one as well as the first?"

"Yeah," she nodded, playing with her empty glass, "although the coffin scene creeped me out. I can't watch it."

Oliver cocked his head to the side and looked at her curiously. "Why not?"

Chloe pursed her lips together and smirked a little, "that kinda happened to me when I was sixteen."

At that, he froze. "What?"

"I was fine," she told him and shook her head, "and I didn't have to Bride my way out of it. But it did give me nightmares at the time."

"You're telling me you were _buried alive_?" He stared at her, shocked.

Chloe chewed on the inside of her lip, a little uneasy by his reaction, she didn't mean to turn the conversation into a serious subject, but she wasn't going to lie to him, so she nodded, "there was a psycho cop who wanted to make a name for himself, so he set up a scene just to paint himself as a hero."

He shook his head a little. "You know, the more I hear about Smallville, the more screwed up I think it is." 

She smiled a little at that, "I'm sure it won't get any better anytime soon, it is pretty messed up."

"You've really been through a lot, haven't you?" It wasn't really a question. He gazed at her intently.

Chloe shrugged a little, holding his gaze "we all have. I think I would take meteor infected people over being stuck on an island."

"I wasn't nearly killed on the island. Well...except that one time." He shrugged, as well. He cocked his head to the side, watching her for a moment. "What would you say if I offered to teach you self-defense?"

She raised an eyebrow at that and smiled, "self-defense isn't incredibly effective against meteor mutants."

"No, but fortunately we don't really have those here in Star City. We just tend to have your run of the mill muggers."

Pursing her lips together, she considered him for a second then nodded, "you make a good point."

"And I'll do my best to keep you safe, but we both know I won't be around all the time." His voice was quiet and he looked down at the table.

At that, she frowned a little, "I don't expect you to be responsible for me, Ollie."

He glanced up at her. "Not... _responsible_ , but..." He tried to find the right words. "This is my city, you know? It's kind of my job to keep the people here safe."

"And it's my job to help you and keep _you_ safe," she told him, smiling softly, "it's in the job description for the Watchtower."

Oliver met her eyes and held her gaze, a soft smile touching his lips, as well. He reached out and covered her hand with his silently.

Chloe turned her hand and held his, meeting his gaze and smiling softly, "how about we watch each other's backs?"

"I like that plan," he said quietly, sliding his fingers through hers.

She smiled a little more and nodded, looking at him for a second then looking down at their hands.

"I'm really glad you're here," he admitted, his voice dropping even more. "I don't think I even realized how alone I felt until I wasn't anymore."

When he spoke, she turned to look up at him again, her face softening, "now you don't have to feel alone anymore, if you need company, all you need to do is let me know."

Oliver lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her palm softly, closing his eyes. 

Her stomach tightened slightly as she watched him, her fingertips brushing against his cheek and she couldn't stop herself from wondering what it would feel like to have his lips on hers instead. Because she had no doubt that kissing Oliver Queen was a whole experience on its own.

He leaned into her light touch, exhaling slowly and then opening his eyes to look at her once more. "You're very welcome to stay here," he told her, his thumb moving lightly over the back of her hand.

She raised her eyebrows, not sure if he meant here in Star City or here in his guest room, the alcohol was still clouding her mind and so was Ollie, not that she minded it, "you mean in Star City?"

"Here," he said, glancing around. "With me. Here." Okay, so maybe he'd had just a _little_ too much to drink too, but he was sincere about the invite.

She smiled and let out the breath she didn't even realize she had been holding, "I guess if we haven't killed each other yet..."

At that, he grinned. "Well, you're not in danger from me."

"Oh," she cocked her head, "but you think you are from me?"

Oliver met her gaze. "It's entirely possible," he murmured.

She squinted slightly, she knew his words had more to them than just the teasing, but she didn't know what it was, "why would I possibly want to kill you?"

"Oh, I didn't say you wanted to kill me. I just said it was possible I was in danger from you." Possible wasn't even the right word. More like _probable_.

"What kind of danger?"

He looked down at her hand, still holding onto his and then looked up at her once more, falling silent.

She looked down too then met his gaze again, smiling slowly then giving his hand a light squeeze.

Definitely not completely one-sided.

~Fini~


End file.
